Vettel will return to race for Aston Martin at Australian Grand Prix

2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

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Aston Martin has confirmed Sebastian Vettel will return to race in the Australian Grand Prix, after missing the first two races of the season.

Vettel tested positive for Covid-19 prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix, prompting the team’s reserve driver Nico Hülkenberg to replace the four-times champion. Hulkenberg remained in the seat for the second round of the championship one week later in Saudi Arabia.

“We are pleased to confirm that Sebastian Vettel is now fit to race and will therefore line up alongside Lance Stroll in Melbourne to kick off his 2022 F1 season,” said the team in a statement on social media.

Aston Martin are yet to score a point so far this season. Stroll finished 12th for the team in Bahrain, a result Hulkenberg repeated in Jeddah.

Notable positive Covid-19 cases in F1

DateIndividual/sTeam/otherNotes
18/3/2020One team memberMcLarenRace subsequently cancelled
30/07/2020Sergio PerezRacing PointMissed British and 70th Anniversary grands prix
08/10/2020Six team membersMercedes
13/10/2020Two team membersRenault
21/10/2020Lawrence StrollRacing Point
21/10/2020Lance StrollRacing PointMissed Eifel Grand Prix
30/10/2020Four team membersRacing Point
11/11/2020Simon RobertsWilliams
16/11/2020Mario IsolaPirelli
26/11/2020Jonathan WheatleyRed Bull
1/12/2020Lewis HamiltonMercedesMissed Sakhir Grand Prix
5/1/2021Lando NorrisMcLaren
13/1/2021Charles LeclercFerrari
25/1/2021Toto WolffMercedes
31/1/2021Pierre GaslyAlphaTauri
11/3/2021Frederic VasseurAlfa Romeo
25/3/2021Two team membersAston Martin
15/7/2021Three team membersMcLarenIncluding McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown
4/9/2021Kimi RaikkonenAlfa RomeoMissed two races
7/10/2021Alan van der Merwe and Dr Ian RobertsMedical Car teamMissed Turkish Grand Prix
2/11/2021Jost CapitoWilliamsMissed Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
12/12/2021Nikita MazepinHaasMissed Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
16/12/2021Charles LeclercFerrariFirst driver to have a second positive test
11/03/2022Daniel RicciardoMcLarenMissed second pre-season test in Bahrain
17/03/2022Sebastian VettelAston MartinMissed Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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12 comments on “Vettel will return to race for Aston Martin at Australian Grand Prix”

  1. His AusGP participation was effectively never in doubt given lead time. Good thing he’s fully recovered.

  2. Fantastic news! The 3 year wait is almost over!

  3. Just like in 2007 he will start the season in down under

  4. He and Lewis both missed a great opportunity to retire.

    1. As well as us, the unwashed masses.

    2. I don’t think running away like a coward is a good moment to retire (like rosberg), if there’s a thing hamilton has to prove it’s being able to extract the most from a bad car, like schumacher, alonso or others.

      1. You seriously think his current Mercedes is a bad car?

      2. I don’t think he has anything else to prove. He’s driven poorer cars before 2014, and even the Mercedes cars were difficult at times, for example the first few races of 2021 with the instability at the rear. Schumacher in his stint with Mercedes couldn’t do any miracle. Alonso at McLaren couldn’t do any miracle. If a driver can win with the car he’s driving, the car isn’t that bad. There’s too much hype on the topic.

  5. He found a novel way to boycott the first 2 races.

    1. @broke1984 He can’t boycott the fact his team are sponsored by a company which makes up a massive part of the economy of one of those countries those races were held in though…

  6. I just noticed Charles was positive twice….. And i miss Christiaan Horner on the list he had it at christmas (around) according himself or was he talking in royal multiple sense.

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