Some Ferrari and Mercedes team personnel opted to take up the Bahraini government’s offer to get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to reports.
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Bahrain offered all F1 personnel the opportunity to get vaccinated against the deadly virus, as they could receive both doses due to pre-season testing and the season-opener taking place in the same country a few weeks apart.
Italy’s Gazzetta Dello Sport newspaper cited a source as saying that some Mercedes and Ferrari staff decided to accept the offer and have already been administered the first dose.
The newspaper stressed that Ferrari team members were vaccinated “strictly on a voluntary basis” and added that the Maranello-based team spoke to health officials in Italy before allowing their staff to accept vaccinations in Bahrain.
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F1 team personnel and drivers, including Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz, who decided to accept Bahrain’s offer will receive the second dose of the vaccine ahead of the season getting underway on 28 March.
The Bahraini government announced that it would be offering vaccines to all F1 staff and drivers a couple of weeks before pre-season testing kicked off.
“Due to the timescale of this year’s Formula 1 event, including testing, the vast majority of participants will be present in Bahrain for a three-week period ahead of the race.
“This, in turn, allows a unique opportunity to provide additional protection for those who wish to take up the opportunity in the form of vaccination,” the Bahraini government said in a statement.
Over the weekend, Max Verstappen revealed that he had also received his first coronavirus jab, but explained that he was vaccinated somewhere in Europe, not in Bahrain.
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