Aston Martin have announced that Nico Hulkenberg will step in for Sebastian Vettel for the second race weekend in a row, with the latter still recovering from COVID-19. It follows an update from Aston Martin on Thursday confirming that Vettel had still not tested negative for the virus , which he picked up ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. As Vettel's recovery continues, Hulkenberg has been called up to drive in Saudi Arabia. "Nico Hulkenberg will practice, qualify and race alongside Lance Stroll," read a brief statement from Aston Martin. "Despite lack of mileage in the AMR22, Nico coped well in Bahrain and we are sure he will do likewise in Jeddah."
Vettel set to return to action in Australia
Aston Martin added that they expect Vettel to be fit enough to return at the Australian Grand Prix in a fortnight's time. Despite his replacement having no real-life experience of the AMR22, and receiving an extremely late call-up for the event, Hulkenberg adapted quickly and out-qualified teammate Stroll in Sakhir. Neither driver scored points on race day, though, with Aston Martin one of four teams - along with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull - to leave the first round empty-handed.
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