On Thursday the 17th of March, Aston Martin released a statement announcing that their driver Sebastian Vettel had tested positive for Covid-19 and reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg would step in for his fellow German at the season opener in Bahrain.
Nico Hulkenberg departed his full time race seat in formula 1 at the end of the 2019 season as he moved aside for current Alpine driver Esteban Ocon for the 2020 season. Despite this, Hulkenberg didn’t stop his journey in F1 as Sergio Perez, who was racing for Racing Point at the time, tested positive for Coronavirus ahead of the British Grand Prix and 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. Hulkenberg qualified thirteenth on the Saturday. However, could not start the race as a result of an engine fault before the start.
Ahead of the 70th anniversary race, Hulkeneberg managed to achieve a very impressive third only just behind the 2 Mercedes drivers. However more bad luck would strike Hulkenberg as he was forced into another pit-stop as a result of tyre wear but still finished an impressive P7. Hulkenberg would make a third appearance in 2020 at the Eifel Grand Prix after replacing Lance Stroll when the Canadian sat out that weekend after feeling “unwell”.
In the early months of 2021, Aston Martin officially signed Hulkenberg as reserve and development driver but he was not needed in the 2021 season. he has not done any other racing until, on Thursday the 17th of March he got the call by Aston Martin after Sebastian Vettel tested positive for Covid-19.
In Bahrain, an Aston Martin car reached the top 10 in each day of testing and Stroll even managed to achieve P3 on Day 2 and was only 5 tenths off the pace. In Practice 1, Stroll achieved P6 and Hulkenberg completed the session in P14. In Practice 2 however, the 2 Aston Martin drivers only managed P16 and P17.
How do you think Hulkenberg and Stroll will do in qualifying and the race?