Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel will miss the season opener in Bahrain this weekend due to an infection with the corona virus.
As his Aston Martin racing team announced on Thursday, his compatriot Nico Hülkenberg will replace Hesse at the Grand Prix in the desert state on Sunday (4 p.m. CET in the FAZ live ticker for Formula 1 and on Sky).
For the 34-year-old Vettel, it's the worst possible start to the new era of motorsport's premier class.
His team did not initially provide any information about the health of the Heppenheimer.
But Hülkenberg gets another chance in the cockpit.
He was appointed Formula 1 reserve driver by the English car manufacturer in the previous season and is now the first choice in this function after Vettel's failure.
In the 2020 season, the Rhinelander Hülkenberg had already stepped in twice for Aston Martin's predecessor team Racing Point.
In the first Silverstone race, after Sergio Perez's Corona case, he was slowed down by a damaged clutch before the opening lap of the British Grand Prix.
A week later at the beginning of August, Hülkenberg delivered an impressive performance with seventh place in the 70-year race of Formula 1.
As a replacement for Stroll, Hülkenberg then made his next lightning comeback for Racing Point in autumn 2020 at the Nürburgring, for whose predecessor racing team Force India (2011, 2012, 2014 to 2016) he had already driven.
As a substitute driver, he also takes care of the development, for example in the simulator.
After the end of his contract with Renault after the 2019 season, Hülkenberg no longer had a regular cockpit.