There could be a new driver at F1 races in 2022 after the FIA made vaccinations against Covid-19 mandatory for the new campaign.
New regulations mean all personnel needing to enter the paddock at Grand Prix's, including drivers, team members, VIPs and media, will need to provide evidence of being double jabbed to be permitted entry.
The new directive isn't expected to affect those who line-up on the grid, with all 20 F1 drivers having reportedly received the vaccine. However, there is one critical race figure who may have now have to be replaced.
The South African born Alan Van der Merwe, who drives the FIA's medical car, has previously publicly disclosed he is yet to take the vaccine and has no intention of doing so.
Ahead of events in Qatar and Saudi Arabia last year, Van der Merwe posted on Twitter : "In Switzerland (I'm half Swiss) and other developed countries, prior infection counts as much as a vaccine.
"I trust that those countries know what they're doing, and also respect countries' more restrictive rules and not travel there.
"I am fully aware that I will potentially be less employable or that my freedom of movement will be restricted based on my choices.
"That I will not choose convenience over my own health does not mean I am making decisions out of selfishness. We all just want to be healthy."
Van der Merwe, 42, was widely praised after his prompt actions helped rescue Haas driver Romain Grosjean from his harrowing accident in Bahrain in 2020.
But he is yet to comment on the latest development, that follows last month's World Motor Sport Council meeting, and the FIA are yet to clarify where their medical driver of 12 years now stands.
Van der Merwe competed in the Formula Ford Festival, British Formula 3, the A1 Grand Prix Series and the 2008 Le Mans Series before joining F1 in 2009.
Since the sport was disrupted by the initial Covid pandemic in March 2020, five drivers have had to miss events after testing positive for the virus.
Lewis Hamilton - after winning the 2020 world championship - Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, Nikita Mazepin and Kimi Raikkonen have all had to miss Grand Prix races, while Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Pierre Gasly all contracted Covid on non-race weekends.
