McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo has been given the go-ahead to race this weekend after his battle with Covid.
The Aussie driver missed out on pre-season testing after falling ill on arrival in Bahrain.
He was confined to his hotel room, while Lando Norris jumped behind the wheel of the MCL36 for the three day test.
It’ll be a challenging weekend for Ricciardo as he gets his first taste of the new machinery at the season opener, however, the team says “he’s ready.”
In a statement on Twitter a spokesperson for McLaren wrote: “McLaren F1 Team confirms that after testing positive for Covid-19 last week, 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.
“Daniel has been feeling better each day as he continued to recover while in isolation following local regulations in Bahrain.”
Update from the team on @DanielRicciardo. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/rDqeYRlf6P
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 16, 2022
Ricciardo had updated fans when the news broke last week and said: “Better this week than next,” Ricciardo said on his Twitter channel.
“Unfortunate to miss the test, but I’m starting to feel better. I’ll stay isolated and just focus on next weekend.
“Big thanks to Lando and McLaren for the heavy lifting, I owe you some beers [milk for Lando].
“Appreciate the well wishes from everyone.”
