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Formula 2 driver quarantined in Spanish hotel following coronavirus outbreak

Danish Formula 2 driver, Christian Lundgaard, has been quarantined in a hotel in Tenerife, Spain following an outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.

As such, the 18-year-old racing driver will not be able to participate in the Bahrain tests, scheduled for 1 - 3 March 2020. Lundgaard will be replaced former Williams driver, Sergey Sirotkin.

Lundgaard’s F2 team, ART, said in a statement: "Christian, 18, has been participating in a winter training camp in Tenerife organized by Renault Sport Academy. However, he has been detained on the island following an outbreak of the coronavirus in his hotel. 

"Christian has been checked by medical experts and is fit and well and not displaying any symptoms of COVID-19, however the governing authorities have ruled all guests of the hotel must remain in quarantine for two weeks as a precaution against the spread of the virus."

Sergey Sirotkin,f1,formula 2,formula 1,

                        Sergey Sirotkin. Image: Charles Coates / Getty Images

Ready to race

Sirotkin has been ousted by the Williams Formula 1 team following the 2018 season and was subsequently replaced by Robert Kubica. The Russian driver has been relatively quiet with regards to his racing activities, but did race in the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans for the SMP Racing - a team operated by ART.

Sirotkin said: "I am very pleased to receive such an offer from ART Grand Prix.

"I admit, it was unexpected for me. I want to thank the team for choosing me among a large number of other drivers, and for its trust. I will be very pleased to be back behind the wheel of a racing car, and I will try to do a good job and help develop the machine with the new tyres, and in accordance with the new regulations."

READ: Coronavirus could force 2020 F1 season to start in May

The spreading of the deadly coronavirus forced the FIA to postpone the 2020 running of the F1 Chinese GP. It is speculated that the three races preceding the Chinese event - Australia, Bahrain, and Vietnam - could also be postponed, or cancelled.

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