"Unlucky" Perez "not willing to take any blame" for contracting Covid-19

Racing Point driver Sergio Perez has refused to accept any blame for contracting the coronavirus despite travelling home to Mexico between the Hungarian and British Grands Prix.

The Mexican has defended his decision to travel to his home country after the close of the season's first triple-header despite Mexico being a known hot-spot for Covid-19.

He explained: “I’ve put everything out in a video. Where I went, any place I visited, anything I did after Hungary.

“Everything was done with extreme precautions, with very extreme lines. I was well aware what was going on.

“I think I was just unlucky. I haven’t done anything different to the rest of the paddock. So I was just the unlucky one to get it. That’s one thing. But I’m not willing to take any blame for that because anyone can get it, I was just the unlucky one.”

As a result of testing positive for Covid-19 on July 30, Perez missed both the British and 70th Anniversary Grands Prix, with Nico Hülkenberg stepping in to temporarily replace the eight-time podium finisher.

Hülkenberg did not start the British Grand Prix because of a mechanical issue but impressively finished seventh a week later at Silverstone.

Perez, who has now been cleared to compete in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, says he will not take additional precautions going forward after making a full recovery from Covid-19.

He added: “To be honest, before that, we were already so conservative and took so many precautions that nothing really changes, whether you are positive or negative.

"The procedures are very, very similar, so the amount of precautions that we take have been already in place, [there's] nothing really more or to do differently than what I’ve done and what we're doing already.”

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