After testing positive for Covid 19 ahead of the season opener, Sebastian Vettel is set to miss his first F1 race weekend since 2007.
The start of the 2022 season has been turbulent for reasons other than racing. Last week, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo missed all three days of testing due to a positive Covid result. It led to fears arising that the Aussie won’t be able to take part in the season opener.
Fans of Ricciardo were pleased when McLaren announced the 32-year old’s negative test return. As a result, we will see the honey badger behind the wheel of his car come FP1.
However, with one good news, comes another bad news. Earlier today, Aston Martin announced that Sebastian Vettel tested positive for Covid 19. With FP1 scheduled tomorrow, Vettel’s availability for the entire weekend is now ruled out.
@danielricciardo and Sebastian Vettel caught COVID the same week 👀#BahrainGP #Formula1 pic.twitter.com/fjC0SJfKcB
— Sickmind Fraud (@ogtanish) March 17, 2022
Aston Martin announced that reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg will replace the four-time World Champion starting tomorrow.
All F1 drivers posed together for a photograph condemning the war in Ukraine last week. Ricciardo himself was in the photo, with Vettel right in front of him. This raises questions as to whether there is a Covid outbreak among the F1 paddock.
Also read: Is it going to be Daniel Ricciardo 2.0 in McLaren after his recovery from Covid ahead of Bahrain GP?
Sebastian Vettel won’t be a part of an F1 weekend after 15 long years
The last time Sebastian Vettel didn’t take part in an F1 weekend was at the 2007 European GP at Nürburgring. Ever since that, he’s been a part of every single Grand Prix weekend.
The last time he didn’t start a race was at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix. The German looked fast leading up to the race, but an engine failure in the warm-up lap prevented him from starting.
This will be the first F1 race weekend without Sebastian Vettel driving since the 2007 European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.
One DNS in that time – here in Bahrain in 2016 #F1 #BahrainGP
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) March 17, 2022
I think they should cancel the GP in his honour.
— Pablo Elizalde (@EliGP) March 17, 2022
Vettel’s absence in the upcoming season opener gives another F1 opportunity to Hulkenberg. The former Renault driver was rumored to replaced Nikita Mazepin at Haas earlier this year. That seat ended up falling in favor of Kevin Magnussen’s favor.
Hulkenberg’s last involvement in F1 was in 2020. He stood is as a replacement driver for Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll respectively, who were also out with Covid.
