Sebastian Vettel will return to the wheel of his Aston Martin next weekend in what will be the third Formula 1 race of the 2022 season, an Australian Grand Prix that will also return to the calendar after two years of absence due to the COVID-19 .
Curiously for that very reason, the veteran German driver was forced to miss the first two rounds of the season, with Nico Hulkenberg taking his seat at both the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix and the final Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Fortunately, Vettel has already been able to test negative for several PCR tests and the team has confirmed that he will line up with Lance Stroll in Melbourne, recovering more than a week before the Albert Park race.
After completing the two weeks of pre-season testing with the team, the first in Barcelona and the second in Sakhir, Vettel will arrive at the third round of the season with more experience than Hulkenberg when he got on the AMR22 in Free Practice 1 of the Bahrain GP .
Speaking to Motorsport.com in Jeddah, Hulkenberg explained that he would be prepared to race in Australia if necessary, but explained that he hadn’t really expected it.
“We’ll talk about it,” said the veteran German driver. “I could go to Australia, but I’m a little bit on hold, and if the situation arises, it’s still not Europe, but I’m a little bit closer.”
Hulkenberg joked after the race in Saudi Arabia that he was pleased to do a “clean” race as he was “the rusty old man” after not having been on the grid full-time since the 2019 season.
“The last 10 days were very unexpected personally, very busy and intense, but I really enjoyed them,” said the Aston Martin reserve driver. “I think that in a few years, I will look back and have happy memories of these two weeks,” he concluded.
In this way, Vettel will return to the wheel of his car, which so far has not been very competitive, and Hulkenberg will return to his role as reserve driver, combining it with his work as a television commentator in his native Germany.
