Hulkenberg has also replaced Vettel in Saudi Arabia

(Motorsport-Total.com) – After the Formula 1 season opens in Bahrain, Sebastian Vettel also has to skip the Saudi Grand Prix in Jeddah. The Aston Martin race team announced this on Friday morning.

Like last week, Nico Hulkenberg will be involved in training, qualifying and racing as Vettel’s replacement alongside Lance Stroll. Despite the lack of test kilometres, the team wrote on Twitter that Hulkenberg “has done well in Bahrain and we are sure he will do the same in Jeddah”.

“We expect Sebastian Vettel to be fit again for the Australian Grand Prix,” she said.

Aston Martin has not announced any details. At the moment, it remains unclear whether Vettel continued to test positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus or whether there were other reasons, such as a physique not yet fully recovered, why he did not come to Saudi Arabia.

Apart from the tweet, Vettel was not mentioned in Aston Martin’s official press release ahead of the weekend’s Jeddah Grand Prix, the main event for the championship’s main sponsor Aramco.

Hülkenberg is the only one who wishes his compatriot “a speedy recovery” in his quote, but in his view he is “looking forward to the challenge and I will do everything in my power for my team this weekend”.

“Driving in Saudi Arabia gives me the opportunity to develop my understanding of the car,” Hulkenberg says, stressing his simulation session earlier in the week, which helped him prepare for the “fast and flexible track.” Which is still entirely new territory for him having not started there in 2021.

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