Sebastian Vettel has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not compete in this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Aston Martin announced March 17.
Nico Hulkenberg will hop in for Vettel in the 2022 Formula 1 season opener.
Vettel has run in nearly every race since his first full-time season in 2008; he didn’t start at the Bahrain International Circuit in 2016.
UPDATE: Sebastian Vettel has tested positive for COVID-19 and will therefore not be taking part in the 2022 #BahrainGP.
Replacing him in the AMR22 will be Reserve Driver @HulkHulkenberg, who will be in the car from FP1 onwards. #F1 pic.twitter.com/36wnI8LUAC
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) March 17, 2022
Last year in his first season with Aston Martin, Vettel snagged a second place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
In total, the German has 53 wins and 122 podiums since 2008.
Hulkenberg, meanwhile, last drove in F1 in 2020 for Racing Point in place of Lance Stroll in the Eifel Grand Prix, who had a positive COVID-19 test at the time. He also filled in for Sergio Perez in both races at Silverstone.
He earned his best place in the standings, seventh, in 2018 for Renault Sport.
Vettel is the second driver to test positive for COVID-19 so far this year, as Daniel Ricciardo also was positive for the virus last week. He’s tested negative multiple times since and will race for McLaren in Bahrain.
About the author
Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor while continuing to write daily fantasy and news articles. A California native, Joy was raised as a motorsports fan and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.
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