Just a day before the first race weekend of the season in Bahrain, Sebastian Vettel has been tested positive for COVID-19. The Aston Martin F1 racing team announced that the 4-time world champion had tested positive and will not be able to take part in the race this weekend.

Vettel‘s absence from the weekend means that their reserve driver, Nico Hulkenberg will replace him in the AMR22. The team took to social media to inform their fans about the announcement.

” 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″ wrote Aston Martin on Twitter.

Can Nico Hulkenberg perform well in absence of Sebastian Vettel?

Hulkenberg hasn’t had a full-time seat in F1 since the end of the 2019 season. Although he deputized for both Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll in the 2020 season whenever the 2 of them couldn’t race due to health issues. The German driver mostly impressed everyone with his performances, despite not having any experience in the then-known F1 team, Racing Point.

Read More: How Much Weight Do F1 Drivers Lose During a Race?

Hulkenberg is currently in the same situation as in 2020, as he heads into F1 without having no prior experience in the new cars. It would be interesting to see how the German driver adapts to Vettel’s Aston Martin AMR 22.

Nico is a known commodity in the F1 paddock and is often seen as one of the reliable drivers of the last decade. He would have to rely on his years of experience to get a decent performance to his name.

Watch This Story: Biggest Crashes From 2020 Featuring Leclerc, Vettel & Grosjean

It is still unclear whether Sebastian Vettel would return to racing in Saudi Arabia next week. We wish the 4-time world champion a speedy recovery and hopefully see him trackside soon.