Carlin driver Kaylen Frederick will miss this weekend’s Belgian round of the Formula 3 championship after returning a positive Covid-19 test.
Frederick’s rookie season has been hampered by a hand fracture in Austria that forced him to miss the final race of that round and the entirety of the subsequent Hungary event.
Frederick was replaced in Hungary by Formula 3 veteran Jake Hughes and underwent successful surgery on the fracture.
But a planned return in Belgium has been abandoned after he returned a positive Covid-19 test as part of the mandatory pre-event test.
Carlin, which has not had any team members affected, will not replace Frederick and instead field only Jonny Edgar and Ido Cohen.
“I’m absolutely heartbroken,” said Frederick. “Aside from being painful, the injury in Austria was such a blow as it meant I would miss Hungary.
“Thinking about being back for Spa really helped push me through the surgery and physio, all of which was designed to accelerate my recovery.
“To now have tested positive for Covid-19 is just agonising. I don’t feel too bad, so I’ll just be sitting at home, but it will be awful to see everyone out in Spa without me.”
Frederick is the second Formula 3 racer to miss a round in 2021 due to Covid-19, with Campos’ Laszlo Toth absent in France.
