Nico Rosberg set to have F1 ban lifted for 2023 as FIA change rules

Drivers, team members and the media had to provide evidence of having had two coronavirus jabs to enter the paddock in 2022. However, the FIA has now confirmed restrictions will be relaxed for 2023 due to “changes in the status of the global pandemic”.

It means there will now be no requirement to be fully vaccinated to enter high-density areas such as the paddock. The FIA will also no longer organise on-site testing facilities but will direct anyone to local sites.

Attendees who have coronavirus symptoms or a confirmed infection will still be banned from entering certain areas. The rule didn’t affect the on-track action with all 20 drivers having taken the vaccine ahead of the season.

But, it meant Rosberg was barred after making the decision to not get a vaccine after a previous Covid infection. He was still a key part of Sky Sports F1’s coverage but spent most of the year talking through video calls from his house.

READ MORE: Nico Rosberg shown no sympathy over F1 ban – ‘Stay at home’

The South African played a key role in helping Romain Grosjean escape his fireball crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. But, he was dropped just a year later simply for not taking the jab ahead of the 2022 campaign.

He posted on Twitter: “Vaccines are showing to be safe and effective for the vast majority of people. But what if you’re not in the majority? Do you automatically need to be excluded from society? Should some people’s health be sacrificed for the greater good of a vaccine rollout?

“My experience of who has contracted (Covid) around me, the severity of the disease, and their vaccination status is the only real data I have that I can trust fully. This doesn’t undermine the data that you wish to use at all, but it doesn’t change my reality & personal circumstances.”

He added: “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.”