Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be replaced by Nico Hulkenberg.
A mere 24 hours before cars hit the track, Aston Martin announced that Sebastian Vettel had tested positive for COVID-19 and would not be able to take part in the Bahrain GP this weekend.
This will be the first F1 race weekend without Sebastian Vettel since the 2007 European Grand Prix.
Aston Martin revealed Vettel would be replaced by the team’s reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg – who will be in the car from FP1 onwards. No stranger to being called upon, Hulkenberg stepped in for the 2020 British GP after Sergio Perez tested positive and the 2020 Eifel GP to replace an unwell Lance stroll.
Like many of the teams, Aston Martin did not allow time for their reserve drivers to take part in testing, because of which this will be the first time he steps into the 2022 car. A steep learning curve ahead for the German.
This comes just a week after Daniel Ricciardo tested positive and was unable to participate in testing. However It was announced yesterday that Ricciardo had recovered from COVID-19 and with several negative tests, would be able to take part in this weekend’s Bahrain GP.
We wish Sebastian a speedy recovery.
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