After testing positive for COVID-19 last week, Daniel Ricciardo will be back for this week’s race.
During testing it was reported Ricciardo had been feeling unwell and wouldn’t be able to participate. It was then confirmed on Friday that he had in fact tested positive for COVID-19 and would be heading into isolation.
This lead many to question his ability to participate in Bahrain, with many names floating around of possible replacements for the Grand Prix. As McLaren doesn’t have their own specific reserve driver, Alpine offered up their reserve driver (Oscar Piastri) to the team, should he be needed.
However good news for Ricciardo, in a statement released on Wednesday, McLaren revealed:
“Daniel has now returned a number of negative tests and will therefore return to the paddock on Thursday ready to compete in this weekend’s Bahrain GP.”
The team also confirmed that alongside the negative result, “Daniel has been feeling better each day as he continued to recover while in isolation following local regulations in Bahrain.”
McLaren got off to quite a rocky start in Bahrain, suffering with braking issues that left Norris unable to complete long runs. As Ricciardo was unable to take part in testing, Friday will see him get into his 2022 car for the first time.
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