Marko says Red Bull driver's girlfriend tested positive for COVID

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Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko says a girlfriend of one of Red Bull's drivers recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Marko did not reveal the identity of the driver whose partner was infected or whether he belonged to either Red Bull Racing or AlphaTauri, but the Austrian wasn't happy with the situation claiming to have witnessed complacency at Sochi, with many people not wearing masks outside of the paddock.

"Outside of the paddock there were very few walking around wearing masks," Marko told Speedweek.

"We had a driver whose girlfriend was infected, and he wasn't infected. Another was at a party where three infected people were present, and that was also negative."

Haas' Romain Grosjean also complained of not feeling safe outside of the perimeters of the F1 paddock in Sochi, noting that few wore masks in and around his hotel.

The Russian Grand Prix was the first race of the season to welcome fans in its grandstands, with an estimated 30,000 people in attendance on race day.

Formula 1 confirmed last week that 10 members of the F1 community recently tested positive for COVID-19, but the cases were not linked to public presence in Sochi.

Since testing for the coronavirus was initiated by F1, just before the start of the 2020 season in Austria, approximately 50,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted, from which just 26 positive cases were identified.

Racing Point's Sergio Perez has been the sport's highest profile case, the Mexican testing positive ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and remaining in isolation for ten days without any symptoms.

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