Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has become the latest senior figure in Formula 1 to test positive for Covid-19.
Wolff, 49, confirmed to Austrian broadcaster ORF yesterday he had contracted the virus but has already completed his quarantine period following the diagnosis. He is said to have had “the mildest of symptoms”.He joins a growing number of notable paddock figures to have tested positive for Covid-19. Five drivers have had the virus, including Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton, who missed the Sakhir Grand Prix as a result.
Lando Norris, who contracted Covid-19 earlier this year, is now symptom-free. The most recent positive case was Charles Leclerc, but the Ferrari driver is due to return to the cockpit at Fiorano this week.
Six other Mercedes staff also tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nurburgring last October.
Notable positive Covid-19 cases in F1
Date | Individual/s | Team/other | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
18/03/2020 | One team member | McLaren | |
30/07/2020 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point | Missed British and 70th Anniversary grands prix |
08/10/2020 | Six team members | Mercedes | |
13/10/2020 | Two team members | Renault | |
21/10/2020 | Lawrence Stroll | Racing Point | |
21/10/2020 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | Missed Eifel Grand Prix |
30/10/2020 | Four team members | Racing Point | |
11/11/2020 | Simon Roberts | Williams | |
16/11/2020 | Mario Isola | Pirelli | |
26/11/2020 | Jonathan Wheatley | Red Bull | |
1/12/2020 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Missed Sakhir Grand Prix |
5/1/2021 | Lando Norris | McLaren | |
13/1/2021 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | |
25/1/2021 | Toto Wolff | Mercedes |
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MacLeod (@macleod)
25th January 2021, 8:49
That is scary how easy people get covid-19 I hope all got vaccinated as fast possible!
ColdFly (@)
25th January 2021, 9:02
Indeed easy to get when travelling a lot and meeting many other people (hence the travel and social distancing measures in most countries).
I hope though that the first vaccinations go to people who are likely to get sicker and who now fill up the hospitals.
Jere (@jerejj)
25th January 2021, 9:02
@macleod Yes, although F1 people are yet to get vaccinated.
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
25th January 2021, 21:00
@macleod – there is actually nothing “scary” in how people get Covid-19. The SARS-CoV-2 viral transmission routes are no different from many other other common respiratory viral infections- including colds, the flu and bronchiolitis.
TurboBT
25th January 2021, 9:15
I really believe that F1 people are getting it on purpose so that they dont get sick in the middle of the season.
MacLeod (@macleod)
25th January 2021, 9:20
I don’t think that is very smart because Covid-19 could kill a healty person so your throwing a dice.
ColdFly (@)
25th January 2021, 9:42
Not very smart (numbers game with one’s health/life) but I would not be surprised if the Marko Summer Camp idea (which was fake) surfaced again in some teams.
Especially RBR could ask themselves what the risks to their season might be if Max catches COVID-19 mid season, knowing that Hamilton and Leclerc are most likely not to get it again before then end of 2021.
@macleod
BasCB (@bascb)
25th January 2021, 10:08
Also @coldfly, @macleod, TurboBT, research has shown that getting Covid-19 now woudn’t really protect them even for the whole season (protection seems to last forapp. 4-6 months). And especially with hardly any symptoms, it seems questionable whether it would protect them against newer, more virulent strains of the virus at all.
And they might still be transmitting it too, meaning they would still be barred from entry of the pitlane to avoid infecting others (there is no conclusive evidence that they cannot carry the virus, despite not getting sick anymore when protected by anti bodies)
Postreader
25th January 2021, 10:28
This is false. Antibody strength is still increasing six months after infection and a British study with HCP that were infected duting the first wave found a 99% efficacy on protecting against symptomatic infection at least half a year apart.
Besides, you don’t seem aware that there is a difference between sterilizing and protective immunity. Vaccine or not, all of us will likely get it a few times a lifetime; the idea is that in the future your immune system can handle it like a common cold virus instead of completely sabotating itself.
Postreader
25th January 2021, 10:32
While is plausible your body can jettison the virus so quickly it can’t mount an adaptive immune response, in practice even the shortest of asymptomatic cases will be in contact with Sars-cov-2 antigens for longer that it will br with any vaccine. The fact that these people have less neutralizing antibodies than the hospitalized doesn’t mean anything for future immunity.
MacLeod (@macleod)
25th January 2021, 12:50
@bascb, Your right a houseworker who is helping a invialid friend of mine got Covid-19 in March but got it again in Augustus but the second time it was very hard for her she had to quit her job and is now in the disabled part of checks…
@Post reader, please don’t say anything like that without proof! your right that your own immune system get it wrong that is when you healthy body get destroyed.
your second reaction seems that Covid-19 is reacting different
BasCB (@bascb)
25th January 2021, 12:55
Yeah, I’ve heard of similar cases @macleod, really hope the houseworker pulls trough and recovers.
ColdFly (@)
25th January 2021, 17:07
Dear friends (@macleod, @bascb),
Rather than summing up anecdotal evidence (notwithstanding how serious and impactful individual cases can be) I suggest you refer to the formal studies.
A good one (not peer reviewed yet) is the SIREN study (https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.13.21249642v1)
Thus short term there is a 83% lower risk of (re)infection, and that is a conservative estimate (could be as high as 99%; read detail) as it excludes seroconversions in the negative cohort, and the positive cohort included subjects without a prior positive PCR test (i.e. first infection assumed).
BasCB (@bascb)
25th January 2021, 18:34
@coldfly, yes, certainly true. But I was not going on anecdotal evidence for saying that a previous infection would not be expected to give you immunity lasting for the whole F1 season. The same paper you mention makes a convincing case for there being a significant protection – as good as being vaccinated – for at least the short term: with median protective effect observed five months following primary infection
ColdFly (@)
25th January 2021, 19:29
@bascb
The reason they cannot make a statement beyond six months is because they don’t have the data yet (study period June-November).
From memory they have no reason to believe that the risk increases after 6 months, and suggested that the the protection would at least last a year. Let’s wait for the follow up results in June ;)
BasCB (@bascb)
25th January 2021, 19:34
I am not going to argue here in detail, since I have not studied anything of this close enough for that.
But I do remember that there actually are indications that especially non symptomatical Covid invections might have less protective / less long lasting level of protection.
ColdFly (@)
25th January 2021, 20:26
correct, @BasCB.
That also came out in this study. Those cases (even cases who never had symptoms/positive test, but with antibodies) are included in the 83%. Those who were PCR tested during the first infection actually had a much higher protection rate against a second infection (during at least 6 months).
I have an opinion
25th January 2021, 9:36
Is this the reason why Hamilton had not yet entered into a new contract with Daimler-Benz? (I hope this satisfies the “every article must mention the Hamilton contract” requirement.)
Wayne
25th January 2021, 9:56
I was just about to suggest that maybe lewis contract has not been finalized due to Toto having Covid.
Dave
25th January 2021, 11:14
There are many possible reasons about his contract not being announced yet. I’m thinking that it will not be announced yet until Mercedes’ car launch day, or probably Lewis thinking he had done enough after Turkey 2020.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
25th January 2021, 10:07
This just in, Hamilton tests positive for outlandish contract requests.
Meanwhile they have a driver who is a lot cheaper and can overtake Bottas just aswell.
JohnH (@johnrkh)
25th January 2021, 10:56
@jureo Haha I think Hamilton will be back :)
sumedh
25th January 2021, 11:09
Aah, so that is the reason for the contract delays! So boring..
On a serious note, happy to know that Toto is well again.
Witan
25th January 2021, 12:00
Old style journalism there with “Wolff, 49, confirmed……”. Great.
I look forward to the age of all participants being in the identifier phrase. It will be fun. “Ecclestone,90, says that Fred, 18, the new driver at …..”
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
25th January 2021, 14:27
Well, given the strong link between age and the typical severity of coronavirus symptoms I can see why age is a relevant detail to include in the article.
James Neutron (@phillyspur)
25th January 2021, 15:38
So many people setting themselves up to be hugely disappointed. Again.