Sebastian Vettel will MISS the Bahrain Grand Prix after testing positive for Covid, with Formula One veteran Nico Hulkenberg drafted in by Aston Martin for the season’s first race
- Sebastian Vettel will miss the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend
- The four-time world champion and Aston Martin driver tested positive for Covid
- He will be replaced for this weekend’s race by F1 veteran Nico Hulkenburg
- Hulkenburg last raced in the 2020 season as a stand-in for Racing Point
- It comes a week after Daniel Ricciardo missed testing due to Covid
Sebastian Vettel is to miss the Bahrain Grand Prix after he has tested positive for Covid-19.
The four-time world champion has been forced to pull out of the season opener just one day before practice gets underway for this weekend’s race.
Vettel will be replaced by his German countryman Nico Hulkenberg, who last raced as a stand-in during the 2020 season.
Sebastian Vettel will miss the season opener in Bahrain after testing positive for Covid
Aston Martin confirmed the news in an official statement on Thursday.
The statement read: ‘Sebastian Vettel has tested positive for Covid-19 and will not therefore be taking part in the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix.
‘Replacing him in the AMR22 will be Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg, who will be in the car from FP1 onwards.’
It comes just a week after McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo missed the entirety of pre-season testing in Bahrain after he too tested positive.
Vettel will be replaced at the weekend by Nico Hulkenberg who last raced as a stand-in during the Covid-affected 2020 season
Daniel Ricciardo missed the entirety of testing due to a positive Covid test but he will race in Bahrain
However, the Australian will step back into the car just in time for this weekend’s race.
Remarkably, it will be the first race weekend since the 2007 European Grand Prix that a Formula One race doesn’t have Vettel as an official competitor.
In that time there has only been one race that he has failed to start, at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix, where the engine in his Ferrari packed in on the warm-up lap.
Hulkenberg previously raced full time for the team when it was known as Force India from 2011-2012 and 2014-2016.
After losing his Formula One drive at the end of the 2019 season with Renault, he stepped in for three races the following year when either Sergio Perez or Lance Stroll tested positive.
Hulkenberg will partner Lance Stroll, as the Aston Martin team look to improve on their seventh place finish in last season’s constructors’ championship.
The news comes just a day before Aston Martin get underway for first practice ahead of this weekend’s race
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