Acting Williams team principal to miss Turkish Grand Prix

Williams will be without their Acting Team Principal Simon Roberts at this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix after he tested positive for Covid-19 having displayed symptoms.

Roberts, who is running the team on an interim basis following Claire Williams’ departure, tested negative on Monday when the whole team were tested as per their regular cycle.

However, after displaying “minor symptoms”, he carried out another test on Wednesday morning, which returned a positive result.

Williams say Roberts is “feeling otherwise well” but will isolate for the mandatory 10-day period as per the UK guidelines and support the trackside operations for this weekend’s race remotely.

Team Manager Dave Redding and Chief Engineer of Vehicle Design Adam Carter, will assume his responsibilities between them on the ground at Istanbul Park.

Williams said Roberts “has not been in close contact with any other members of our race team, and the team will continue to operate trackside as planned”.

And they added: “As a team, we have been taking part in a robust testing plan alongside adhering to the FIA Covid guidelines.”

Williams are currently last in the constructors’ championship, having as yet failed to score a point in 2020.