4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel will continue to miss the 2022 F1 season thanks to his bout of COVID. He tested positive before the start of the season in Bahrain and now he will miss this weekend in Saudi Arabia as still hasn't managed to test negative for the virus. Instead of him, Nico Hulkenberg will pilot the Aston Martin which struggled in Bahrain.
Aston Martin revealed that Vettel was isolating in his home in Switzerland and said "despite lack of mileage in the AMR22, Nico coped well in Bahrain and we are sure he will do likewise in Jeddah".
Aston Martin expects Vettel to be fit for the third race in Australia. Vettel is the 6th driver to miss a race since the pandemic after being infected. This list includes, Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, Kimi Raikkonen and Nikita Mazepin.
Hulkenberg was a last minute addition to the Bahrain GP after flying from Germany one day before the weekend. He had 100 laps on the simulator but still managed to beat Lance Stroll in the race. This weekend Hulkenberg expects to be do better after having a full race weekend.
The German has been tapped for the 2nd time to fill in for the Silverstone based team
"I think it was, obviously because I have first-hand information now from inside the car. I think it was, obviously because I have first-hand information now from inside the car," said Hulkenberg.
He also wished Vettel a speedy recovery. "Obviously, I wish Sebastian a speedy recovery, but I am really looking forward to the challenge and will be doing my best for the whole team this weekend," he said.
The team expects to continue to operate at the back of the grid as it grapples with performance issues and propoising, the bouncing effect the new ground effect cars are struggling with.
