12/12/2020
NEWS STORY
Finishing third in today's qualifying session, Lewis Hamilton admits that he is still not feeling 100% having previously tested positive for COVID.
The world champion tested positive while staying in Dubai following the Bahrain Grand Prix and going into isolation he was forced to miss the Sakhir Grand Prix.
Cleared on Thursday to take part in this weekend's event, the Briton finished third in today's qualifying session, albeit just 0.086s of Max Verstappen's pace.
"I don't want to necessarily want to go into too much detail of it all," he subsequently told reporters. "But like I said already back in Australia, just how serious the virus is, and I can really feel for those who have suffered from it and those who have lost ones from it. I can understand how because it's a nasty virus.
"I'm not 100 per cent," he added. "I still have some feeling within my lungs but nonetheless, normally I would drive if one of my arms was hanging off. That's what we do as racing drivers and luckily that's not the case.
"It definitely won't be the easiest of races physically," he admitted, "but I will manage and give it absolutely everything I have.
"One of the symptoms is that it really drains you," he explained. "So I've been trying to sleep as much as I can, but recharging is not as easy as it has been in the past.
"I lost a good amount of weight just in that week, so I'm not 100 per cent the same as I was the last time I raced, but it's by no means going to get in the way of me coming out and giving it my all tomorrow."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Yas Island, here.