McLaren CEO Zak Brown has suggested there was a lack of transparency over the manner in which Racing Point handled Lance Stroll’s illness in Germany.
Stroll was unwell at the Nürburgring and withdrew from the event on Saturday, travelled home to Switzerland the next day, and then carried out a Covid-19 test, which came back positive.
The FIA has since tightened some of the guidelines while Racing Point defended not testing Stroll on the Saturday by stating that his private physician suggested it was not necessary.
McLaren was at the centre of the Covid-19 situation in Australia when it withdrew the team from the planned season-opening event in the wake of one team member testing positive.
Brown quipped that Racing Point must have been advised by “Dr. Seuss or Dr. Dre” and that Stroll should have been tested at the venue.
“For McLaren, we put our people first and foremost, we won’t take any risks, we won’t gamble,” said Brown.
“We recognise how dangerous this [the virus] is, want to make sure everyone stays healthy, continue to put on Grands Prix.
“I think the sport has done a good job, there has been more cases, Racing Point being most visible recently. We do a tremendous amount of testing, we take full precaution.
“I think we all need to look after each other’s back. If I look at the Racing Point incidents, I would probably test anyone who isn’t feeling well daily.
“In Australia, we had someone who didn’t feel well, [Team Principal] Andreas [Seidl] and I aren’t doctors but we took a quick decision to isolate. Once the test came back positive, we isolated the team. Ultimately we knew it would shut us down for the race.
“I know the [Racing Point] doctor didn’t think a test was positive, maybe in hindsight, that should have been different. Don’t know who the doctor is. Don’t know if it was Dr [Vijay] Mallya, Dr Seuss, maybe it was Dr Dre.
“Maybe next time around, we should be testing when anyone has any sorts of symptoms because we know how dangerous this is.”
Brown has suggested that McLaren would have taken a stricter approach compared to its opponent.
“I know when we had our issue in Australia, we communicated it very quickly to everyone, as we have a moral obligation to people’s health,” he said.
“I don’t know the details [about Racing Point], I just know what I read and see, and it looks like there wasn’t immediate transparency.
“For an entity that tests as much as they do, all I know, we would be testing anyone at McLaren who doesn’t feel well daily, to make sure that person is healthy and not transmitting, and then would isolate anyone who is around them immediately.”
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