Nico Hulkenberg has been confirmed to be driving at this weekend’s Saudi Arabian GP, where he will replace 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel for the second race in a row. It will be the German’s first-ever outing at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, a track which is quite challenging to get perfect on the best of days!
Vettel is still recovering from COVID-19 which he contracted prior to the Bahrain GP, and the team confirmed in an official statement that he would not be taking part this weekend as he was still in the recovery phase. It won’t be all sunshine and rainbows for the Hulk though- his and the team’s first outing at Bahrain was a painful one, finishing last of the running cars and scoring zero points in the process.
#SaudiArabianGP Update:@HulkHulkenberg will practice, qualify and race alongside @lance_stroll.
Despite lack of mileage in the #AMR22, Nico coped well in Bahrain and we are sure he will do likewise in Jeddah.
We expect Sebastian Vettel to be fit for the #AustralianGP. pic.twitter.com/SgiSYwxZY2
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) March 25, 2022
Vettel is currently recovering in Europe, and is expected to make a full recovery by the Australian GP in two weeks’ time. Hulkenberg’s first outing at Saudi will be an interesting one to watch, with the heam hopeful to get their first points on the board sooner than later.