Formula 1 2020: Reigning champions Mercedes to share reserve drivers with McLaren, Racing Point

London: Formula One world champions Mercedes will share reserve drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Gutierrez with the Racing Point and McLaren teams this season, a spokesman said on Thursday. The Belgian and Mexican are both former grand prix drivers, with Vandoorne previously racing for McLaren and Gutierrez for Sauber and Haas. [caption id=“attachment_8075391” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AP[/caption] While McLaren use Renault engines, they are switching to Mercedes next season. Racing Point, owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, already have a close relationship with Mercedes as well as a Mexican driver in Sergio Perez. Reserve drivers must be ready to stand in if a regular driver is unable to compete due to sickness or injury, a role that has become more in focus this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sport is planning to start the season in carefully-controlled conditions in Austria on 5 July with teams operating in an isolated ‘bubble’ and with frequent testing for the new coronavirus. Formula One chairman Chase Carey said this week that Formula One would not cancel a race even if a driver returned a positive test. “We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual,” he said. “A team not being able to race wouldn’t cancel the race… we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, (the teams have) reserve drivers available.”