FIA replaces F1 Medical Car team for Turkish GP after Covid-19 cases

2021 Turkish Grand Prix

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Formula 1 has changed its Medical Car team for this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix after its regular pair tested positive for Covid-19.

Medical Car driver Alan van der Merwe and FIA F1 medical rescue co-ordinator and deputy medical delegate Dr Ian Roberts tested positive for Covid-19 prior to travelling to Turkey, the FIA confirmed to RaceFans. The pair are self-isolating and will not attend this weekend’s grand prix at Istanbul Park.

Formula E Safety Car driver Bruno Correia will take over driving duties in the F1 Medical Car this weekend. Formula E medical delegate Dr Bruno Franceschini will stand in for Roberts.

Correia, 43, has been Formula E’s Safety Car driver since the series began in 2014. He drove the BMW i8 Safety Car and later the Mini Electric Pacesetter which replaced it this year.

Prior to that Correia was the Safety Car driver for the World Touring Car Championship and European Touring Car Cup. During his racing career he competed in the Portuguese Formula Ford series and Spanish Formula Renault.

Bernd Maylander will continue to drive the Safety Car as usual at the Turkish Grand Prix.

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Notable positive Covid-19 cases in F1

DateIndividual/sTeam/otherNotes
18/03/2020One team memberMcLaren
30/07/2020Sergio PerezRacing PointMissed British and 70th Anniversary grands prix
08/10/2020Six team membersMercedes
13/10/2020Two team membersRenault
21/10/2020Lawrence StrollRacing Point
21/10/2020Lance StrollRacing PointMissed Eifel Grand Prix
30/10/2020Four team membersRacing Point
11/11/2020Simon RobertsWilliams
16/11/2020Mario IsolaPirelli
26/11/2020Jonathan WheatleyRed Bull
1/12/2020Lewis HamiltonMercedesMissed Sakhir Grand Prix
5/1/2021Lando NorrisMcLaren
13/1/2021Charles LeclercFerrari
25/1/2021Toto WolffMercedes
31/1/2021Pierre GaslyAlphaTauri
11/3/2021Frederic VasseurAlfa Romeo
25/3/2021Two team membersAston Martin
15/7/2021Three team membersMcLarenIncluding McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown
4/9/2021Kimi RaikkonenAlfa RomeoMissed two races

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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6 comments on “FIA replaces F1 Medical Car team for Turkish GP after Covid-19 cases”

  1. You’re missing one Kimi-Matias Räikkönen on that list of notable cases.

  2. Correia got the chance to take over as the Safety Car driver for the World Touring Car Championship in 2009 after a local course car driver caused a crash which took out race leader Franz Engstler at Pau.

    1. That. Is something!

      Safety car joining the race track in an unsafe manner and causing a collision. Oh, the irony.

  3. You missed Channel 4’s Billy Monger who tested positive ahead of the Styrian round:

  4. Surprisingly FE rather than F2, even though the latter is closer to F1 and doesn’t race this weekend.

    1. It’s almost as if F1 and F2 run on the same weekend and have the same medical car and team between them.

Comments are closed.