Sebastian Vettel will miss this weekend’s Formula One race in Bahrain after testing positive for Covid-19. For Sunday’s season-opening race at the Sakhir track, the four-time world champion will be replaced by his fellow German Nico Hülkenberg.
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Vettel, of Aston Martin, is the second F1 driver to get the virus in the last week. Daniel Ricciardo missed the full final test in Bahrain due to a coronavirus, but he will be able to race for McLaren.
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“Sebastian Vettel has tested positive for Covid-19 and will consequently not be competing in the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix,” Aston Martin said in a statement. Nico Hülkenberg, a reserve driver for Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team, will take his place in the AMR22 from FP1 onwards.”
The event will be only the second in which Vettel has not competed since the European Grand Prix in 2007. The first was in Bahrain in 2016.
Hülkenberg, Aston Martin’s reserve driver, last competed in Formula One in 2020. He raced three times as a replacement for Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll, who were both out due to coronavirus. This year, F1 has made it mandatory for all drivers and team personnel to be vaccinated.
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