Former F1 driver with COVID-19: "I thought I was going to die"

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14:48, 20 Mar 2021

Of the current drivers five were infected with the coronavirus; Sergio Perez , Lance Stroll and Lewis Hamilton fell ill during the season, with Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris during the winter break. They all thankfully recovered, but it could have been a lot worse.

Not worried about coronavirus

Former Formula One driver Tarso Marques also tested positive for the virus. The Brazilian driver drove three seasons for Minardi between 1996 and 2001. At first, he was not worried about the virus.

"I thought it wasn't that bad," he told Portuguese weekly Caras.

"I was always very healthy, I had good nutrition, I exercised. I thought nothing would happen to me - what I really cared about were my parents."

As good as dead

That all changed when he finally did contract the virus and ended up in the hospital. "Two hours after the diagnosis, I was already short of breath. Another hour later I couldn't breathe," he said.

"Even now I only have thirty percent of my lung capacity. The first three or four days in the hospital were a horror. You're pretty much dead there. It destroys you. I didn't sleep for nine days."

Marques developed one symptom after another. "The virus attacked everything. I thought I was going to die. I even made a will. That's how I stayed for two more days. When I started to get better, I was worried at night that the improvement was a false alarm."

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	72
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	63
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	49
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	41
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	25
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	21
7	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	17
8	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	15
9	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	12
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	10
11	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	4
12	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	4
13	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	2
15	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	1
16	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	1
17	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
18	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Former F1 driver with COVID-19: "I thought I was going to die"

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