Breaking news
Formula 1
Perez may have caught COVID-19 from private chef
Sergio Perez may have caught COVID-19 from a private chef he hired upon returning to Europe after his trip to Mexico, according to Formula 1 team boss Otmar Szafnauer.
Luke Smith
Edited: Aug 14, 2020, 2:40 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Perez became the first F1 driver to test positive for COVID-19 on the eve of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, ruling him out of the race weekend.
The Mexican driver was forced to quarantine in line with the UK's official guidelines, meaning he also missed the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix one week later.
Perez returned to the track in Barcelona on Friday during practice for the Spanish Grand Prix after returning negative test results earlier this week.
Questions were asked about Perez's decision to travel to Mexico to visit his mother in hospital between the races in Hungary and Great Britain, and whether he may have contracted COVID-19 while on this trip.
But Racing Point now believes Perez picked up the virus after returning to Europe, having hired a private chef to cook for him to limit outside interaction at restaurants.
"We think he got it from one of the private chefs that he hired," Racing Point team principal Szafnauer said. "That, quite frankly, could happen to any one of us. He took every precaution he could privately. He stayed with his parents, he didn't go out to eat.
"When he got back to Europe, he hired a private chef so he wouldn't go to the restaurants. We think he got it from the chef."
Read Also:
- Renault pushing for Racing Point to lose all F1 points
- Aubry, Algarve Pro forced to sit out Spa WEC race
On Thursday, Perez hit back at suggestions he had met with a sponsor and interacted with fans while in Mexico, calling reports "unprofessional" and "bulls**t".
"I haven't done anything different to the rest of the paddock, so I was just the unlucky one to get it," Perez said. "I'm not willing to take any blame for that, because anyone can get it, and I was just an unlucky one."
Perez ended up seventh in opening practice for the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday, finishing two tenths of a second clear of Racing Point teammate Lance Stroll.
Szafnauer was glad to see Perez back behind the wheel and fully recovered from the virus.
"It's really great to see him get over the virus," Szafnauer said. "When he tested positive, he was full of virus, and he got it out of his system pretty quickly. I think that's just because he's in great shape.
"We hope that he gets back up to speed in the car as well. After FP1, it looked like that's happening."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Brown hits back at Szafnauer’s historic racing jibe
Next article Abiteboul "hardly breathing" while Alonso runs at Indy
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
More from
Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
“Am I confident? Probably not” – The unprecedented challenge Singapore is throwing at F1 drivers
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
“Am I confident? Probably not” – The unprecedented challenge Singapore is throwing at F1 drivers
Latest news
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
3 h
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 3 h
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
3 h
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen to race for JR Motorsports again in 2027
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
4 h
Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen to race for JR Motorsports again in 2027
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe