Sergio Perez is in the frame to return to the grid with Racing Point for this weekend’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.
The Mexican missed the British GP after testing positive for Covid-19 last Thursday and was expected to not compete this weekend due to a mandatory 10-day isolation period currently being implemented by UK health officials.
However, Racing Point is now pushing to bring him back after Public Health England agreed with their argument that his initial inconclusive test the day before, which is considered positive under the FIA guidelines, came when the UK’s rules were people only needed to isolate for seven days.
As a result, it means as long as Checo now tests negative, and he has consistently stated he has no symptoms of Covid-19, then he would be eligible to race this weekend.
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What is concerning about this possibility though is in theory, Perez returning would actually breach the current UK health guidelines as he is still within the 10-day window where he would be in isolation following his second test last Thursday.
Furthermore, the basis for the change in quarantine length is the potential for an infected person to be infectious to others for up to nine days after first contracting the virus, meaning Sergio could be putting F1 in a vulnerable position by returning to the paddock.
It’s not surprising that Racing Point is keen to minimise Sergio’s absence, after all, though they have a solid replacement ready in Nico Hulkenberg, the German is unlikely to be as competitive as Sergio would be.
Then there’s also the more traditional F1 factors like sponsors, with those that Perez brings from Mexico clearly keen to see him back in the car as soon as possible.
However, surely, with the sport making such a noise about the work it has done to get the season back up and running again at a time of Covid-19, it would be madness to take what could be a significant gamble.
And after all, it’s not like Perez may be out for much longer if they do wait as there’s another race in just a week’s time in Spain.
As it is, Hulkenberg is currently still featured on the Racing Point motorhome and above the garage, and he’s participating in the media day at Silverstone as this is written.
But it is now unknown exactly who will step into the RP20 for Friday practice tomorrow morning.