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In a rather unfortunate turn of circumstances for Sebastian Vettel, the German driver will miss the Bahrain Grand Prix due to a positive COVID test. What this does, however, is it gives Nico Hulkenberg a surprise fourth outing with Aston Martin as a reserve driver after doing this thrice in the 2020 season.
Vettel has become the second victim of COVID in as many weeks. Before him, it was McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo who was forced to miss the pre-season test in Bahrain last week. Although Ricciardo has recovered and made his way on to the paddock, Vettel will miss the Bahrain GP entirely.
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Meanwhile, Hulkenberg coming to the rescue doesn't seem like anything new. The German driver did that for the same team in 2020 at Silverstone and Nurburgring, where he replaced Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll respectively.
In all of those weekends, despite not racing competitively in any other series, Hulkenberg did a great job, with his qualifying performance in P3 at Silverstone being the standout result for the team.
Hulkenberg has been part of the team as a reserve driver since last year and he should in all probability have decent preparation in place for the race.
It's hard to predict how well he will perform as the German has not raced for more than a year. If his past performances in the same situation are anything to go by, however, then the German should be able to hold his own against his Canadian teammate.
How soon can Sebastian Vettel be back in action?
Due to the easing of curbs throughout the world, COVID restrictions are minimal in the F1 paddock right now. Moreover, the previously employed bubble system is no longer in place. This might be one of the reasons behind multiple drivers contracting COVID within the space of a week.
Looking at a speedy recovery for the Australian, however, we can expect Sebastian Vettel to, in all likelihood, be available for the Saudi Arabian GP next week. It wasn't the ideal start to the season for the German, who would have been looking forward to a new era at the track, where he has been a multiple-time winner in the past.
