FIA set to warn Racing Point over Stroll COVID-19 case

The FIA is reportedly set to address a warning to Racing Point for failing to report Lance Stroll's positive COVID-19 case.

Stroll tested positive for the coronavirus on the Sunday evening after the Eifel GP, having left the Nürburgring that morning and flown by private jet back to his home in Switzerland.

But Racing Point failed to immediately inform the FIA of its driver's positive test, per the governing body's COVID-19 mandatory protocol, with the FIA only learning this week of Stroll's plight.

According to Motorsport.com, Racing Point is set to receive a rap on the knuckles for its omission, the FIA having dispensed warnings earlier this year to Charles Leclerc for returning to Monaco between F1's two Austrian races, and to Sebastian Vettel for leaving his team's bubble in the Spielberg paddock when the German was seen talking to Red Bull's Helmut Marko and Christian Horner.

• Read also: Racing Point issues statement on Stroll positive COVID test

Furthermore, the FIA has tightened its COVID code of conduct ahead of this weekend's Portuguese Grand Prix, making it mandatory for F1 personnel to be tested within 24 hours of their entry into the paddock.

Previously, attendees were granted access to a venue on the basis of a negative test conducted on the Tuesday before an event.

"I think it's a good idea that the FIA has said now 24 hours from entering the paddock, you do another test," commented Racing Point team boss Otmar Szafnauer. "So we will do that."

Lance Stroll's withdrawal from the Eifel GP weekend was based on the driver's flu-like symptoms, the likes of which were not considered to be related to COVID-19 by the Canadian's personal physician who was consulted by the latter... by phone from Germany!

But Szafnauer defended the initiative that could be interpreted as a lack thoroughness on the part of Racing Point."

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but let's not forget, he tested pre-event negative,"Szafnauer said. "He tested twice post-Russia negative. The symptoms were there post-Russia.

"Now that he had a test on Sunday, and it came back positive, yes, you could look in hindsight. But you've got to remember at the time, with the information we had, it was unnecessary. It didn't even come into my mind: go do a test."

"I do want to point out first to everybody that we test more than any other business on the planet," he added.  "Not just Formula 1 teams: any other business on the planet.

"I test every employee twice a week at the factory. We have done more than 15,000 tests. We've had six positives.

"We test, and take this virus more seriously than anybody. We test all of our staff upon arrival from a GP, so they have the peace of mind when they go home, that they didn't pick anything up. We're the only ones that do that: nobody else."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter