F1 driver Lewis Hamilton tests positive for COVID-19

Lewis Hamilton woke up on Monday with 'mild symptoms', reads Mercedes' Twitter statement.

Hyderabad: Mercedes will be without Lewis Hamilton for this coming weekend's Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain after the seven-time world champion tested positive for coronavirus.

Mercedes, in a statement, said he woke up on Monday with 'mild symptoms'.

"The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team regrets to announce that Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be unable to take part in this weekend's Sakhir GP. Lewis was tested three times last week and returned a negative result each time, the last of which was on Sunday afternoon at the Bahrain International Circuit as part of the standard race weekend testing programme," read the statement posted on Twitter.

"However, he woke up on Monday morning with mild symptoms and was informed at the same time that a contact prior to arrival in Bahrain had subsequently tested positive. Lewis therefore took a further test and returned a positive result. This has since been confirmed by a retest," it added.

Mercedes also said that Hamilton is now isolating in accordance with COVID-19 protocols and public health authority guidelines. "Apart from mild symptoms, he is otherwise fit and well, and the entire team sends him our very best wishes for a swift recovery," it said.

Mercedes said they will announce replacement driver plans for this weekend in due course.