Nico Hulkenberg "on standby" for Sebastian Vettel in Saudi Arabia

Aston Martin

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Hulkenberg "on standby" for Vettel in Saudi Arabia

Vettel missed Bahrain after testing positive for Covid-19

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Tuesday 22 March 2022 10:30

Nico Hulkenberg has confirmed he will attend the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix "on standby" as Aston Martin waits to see if Sebastian Vettel will be fit to drive this weekend.

Vettel missed the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix after contracting Covid-19 in the build-up to the weekend, leading to Hulkenberg filling in for the Silverstone-based team for the fourth race since the pandemic began in 2020.

With the second round in Jeddah forming a Middle Eastern double-header, it is uncertain whether Vettel will return to the cockpit of the AMR22.

Asked if he had been given any indication of plans, Hulkenberg said: "No, not yet.

"I am just going anyway on standby and as a reserve and I guess we will find out on Thursday or Friday."

Hulkenberg gains "valuable" knowledge of F1's new era

Hulkenberg finished last of the 17 that saw the chequered flag as F1 commenced its new era with a grand prix that suggested a platform has been provided to deliver better racing.

But with his development work throughout the season carrying more importance than ever as the team attempts to get to grips with the new machinery, Hulkenberg insisted the experience was positive.

"I have first-hand information from inside the car or one of the cars," he explained.

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"Of course, it is valuable to me and the team and also going forward this year in terms of simulator work because I have a good reference now and correlation is something they constantly work on.

"So definitely a bonus."