Sebastian Vettel has been ruled out of Sunday’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix after testing positive for Covid-19.
The Four-time World Champion Aston Martin driver will be replaced by Nico Hulkenberg.
Vettel finished in 12th place in F1 standings with 43 points last season, and his first with Aston Martin.
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo also missed the final test in Bahrain last week after contracting the coronavirus, but he’s been cleared to race this weekend with a negative test.
Reserve driver Hulkenberg has not been a permanent F1 driver since 2019, but he’s filled in for others including Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll.
The next race of the season is Saudi Arabia on March 27, and if Vettel tests negative before then he should be able to compete in the competition.
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Categories: Formula 1