Lewis Hamilton will feature in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend after recording negative coronavirus tests.
The seven-time world champion served a 10-day period of isolation in Bahrain, which ended on Thursday having missed last week’s Sakhir GP after contracting coronavirus.
Hamilton was said to have returned negative COVID-19 tests in Bahrain before flying to Abu Dhabi on Thursday, and then returned another negative result on arrival to the UAE, giving him the green light to make his return to the paddock on Friday in time for opening practice.
George Russell who filled in for the Formula One 2020 racing champion will revert to his seat at Williams after covering for Hamilton last weekend.
The 22-year-old was on standby to fill in again and completed media engagements for Mercedes in the Abu Dhabi paddock on Thursday.
A Mercedes statement read: “Lewis tested negative for Covid-19 on Wednesday prior to completion of his self-isolation period in Bahrain. This enabled him to travel to Abu Dhabi on Thursday afternoon, and he tested negative on arrival.
“Lewis has therefore completed the protocols required by the FIA for his entry to the paddock tomorrow and will be able to take part in the race weekend.”
Hamilton will be back on the track on Friday morning for the first practice session in Abu Dhabi, which starts at 9 am.
Sunday’s race, the 17th and final one of the season would be live at 1.10 pm.
For the World champion, last weekend’s race was the first Hamilton had missed since his F1 career began in 2007, after a record run of 265 consecutive starts.
He had already clinched this year’s world drivers’ title – a record-equalling seventh for the Englishman – at last month’s Turkish GP.
Hamilton said that while he had experienced “one of the hardest weeks that I’ve had for some time” suffering from the virus he was feeling better and had completed his first training session since his positive test on November 30 in a video update on Tuesday.
Congratulations