FIA race director Niels Wittich could miss the inaugural Miami Grand Prix due to Covid-19
(Picture: Getty Images)Formula 1 could be without its two new race directors at the Miami Grand Prix after both tested positive for Covid-19, reports claim.
According to the Telegraph, both Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas tested positive for the virus in the wake of their roles at last weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy. News about the Covid cases was given to teams at a meeting of the F1 Commission in London on Tuesday.
To head to the United States for the next race on the calendar, Miami, in two weekends’ time, there is a requirement for a negative Covid test to be recorded within 24 hours of travelling.
That casts doubt over the pair’s participation in the inaugural grand prix weekend in the city after just four races of their respective tenures.
Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel missed the season opener in Bahrain after testing positive for Covid and was still testing positive by the time of the subsequent race in Saudi Arabia. He eventually returned to action in Australia.
It is hoped one of either Wittich or Freitas will recover in time to run the rule of the race in Miami having taken over in a dual capacity following the axing of previous race director Michael Masi after his role in the controversial climax to the 2021 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The FIA refused to comment on the Covid cases, calling them “unsubstantiated” reports, and said it would “only disclose medical information about our personnel if it was relevant to the running of the event”.
