Formula One defending champion Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for coronavirus. The official Twitter account of F1 confirmed the development.
"Lewis Hamilton will miss this weekend's Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain after a positive test for Covid-19," F1 tweeted.
The seven-time champion, who finished first at the Bahrain Grand Prix last week, has already secured the F1 Championship title for the 2020 season. He is currently at 332 points in the driver's standings, and is a mammoth 131 points ahead of the second-placed Valtteri Bottas.
In a statement, the Mercedes F1 team said that Hamilton has mild symptoms, but is "otherwise fit and well."
"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," the statement read.
"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.
"Lewis is now isolating in accordance with COVID-19 protocols and public health authority guidelines. Apart from the mild symptoms, he is otherwise fit and well, and the entire team sends him our very best wishes for a swift recovery."
Hamilton won 11 of the 15 races competed in the 2020 season of Formula One so far, including the last five races of the season.
The Bahrain GP was overshadowed by a horrific crash including Haas driver Romain Grosjean, which resulted in his car splitting into two pieces and catching fire. Grosjean escaped with minor injuries.
