Racing Point has been on a roll lately. It has been arguably the second fastest car on the grid after the unbeatable Mercedes team. In fact, Racing Point has been so dominant that rivals are filing complaints against its design and some potential copying of IP. Unfortunately, even after having a very fast car, the results have not quite come for Racing Point.
Its ace driver, Sergio Perez, tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the Silverstone race and was ruled out. As fans will know, it is not easy for a driver to just rock up and drive a Formula 1 car. Odds for Racing Point crashed on reputable betting websites such as ComeOn after this news broke.
As it turned out, Nico Hulkenberg has been roped in to drive instead of Sergio Perez on short notice.
Racing Point was Force India not too long back and that was when both Nico Hulkenburg and Sergio Perez used to be teammates. In that sense, it is going to be a sort of homecoming for Nico Hulknerburg but the fight for seats in Formula 1 is such that this return is going to be pretty short-lived.
Formula 1 is one of the sports that seems perfect to run even with COVID-19 raging around the world. The drivers are completely covered, under helmets, and racing at close 300km/h in separate cars.
It was always anticipated that there would be a few drivers or supporting team members that would test positive for COVID-19 along the way but it was still a bit of a shock to everyone. Sergio Perez is one of the most popular drivers of Formula 1 and has been with Racing Point/ Formula 1 for a very long time.
He is in isolation along with a number of his team members that came in close contact. We expect him to be tested in the next week or so and a return to racing next weekend cannot be ruled out just yet.
Driver Drama at Racing Point Is Not Done Yet
One of the drivers who does not have a racing seat for next season is former World Champion Sebastian Vettel. A season back, him moving to Racing Point would have been unheard of but now that Racing Point has a good car and the technical regulations have been frozen for 2021, ensuring Racing Point’s competitiveness for at least another season, Sebastian Vettel will be very happy to sit behind the pink steering wheel.
It may be early days but we could see another German driver in the Racing Point very soon and conceivable for a much longer time.
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