Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Raikkonen will miss this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix after testing positive for Covid-19.
The Finn, who announced on Wednesday that he would be retiring from Formula 1 at the end of the season, will be replaced by Alfa Romeo reserve driver Robert Kubica.
Alfa Romeo said that “Kimi is displaying no symptoms and is in good spirits. He has immediately entered isolation in his hotel. The team has carried out an investigation for any close contacts and there is no further impact expected for the team for the remainder of this event.”
Raikkonen completed both Practice 1 and Practice 2 on Friday at Zandvoort, back on the circuit for the first time since 1985.
The FIA’s strict Covid protocols mean that anyone designated as a close contact to the 41-year-old must immediately isolate and retest for the virus.
As such, Alfa said that “all close contacts have been sorted according to the FIA protocols”.
With a race at Monza in Italy next week, there is the potential that Raikkonen could miss the race there as well.
Kubica has tested the Alfa Romeo several times since joining at the start of 2020. He last raced in F1 for Williams in 2019, making a remarkable comeback to the sport after a rallying crash in 2011 left him with severe injuries to his right arm.
He has 97 F1 starts to his name, as well as one win and 12 podium finishes.
Featured image by Lukas Raich – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0; no changes made.
