Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel ruled out of Saudi Arabian GP

F1 driver Sebastian Vettel has been ruled out of the Saudi Arabian GP this weekend. The Aston Martin driver is yet to fully recover from COVID19.

Nico Hulkenberg, who took Vettel’s place in the season opener in Bahrain, will continue raving for Aston Martin this weekend. The F1 team has confirmed that the stand-in driver will be their second driver after Lance Stroll.

#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

Hulkenberg was drafted in just hours before the free practice last week after Seb Vettel was ruled out. The German was the last driver to cross the finish line in the season opener – finishing 17th in the grid.

On Thursday, Aston Martin confirmed their standby driver was still with the team as they wanted to wait until the end before deciding on Vettel.

The F1 team wanted to give Vettel all the time possible to recover, but things have not his way, and the 4-time World Champion has to wait a bit longer before racing in the new car. He is expected to be back for the Australian GP next month.