Nico Hulkenberg was called to substitute for Vettel already in Bahrain, after he tested positive for Covid-19 which excluded him from the possibility to race in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

As the driver admitted, in fast turn of events he got a call whilst in bed and then flew over to get into the Aston Martin car. Hulkenberg finished the race on P12, one position higher than teammate Lance Stroll, and even though he was happy with his result he still experienced some bad luck when it comes to the timing of the Safety Car on Lap 16.

As he said in an interview after the race: “It was OK, but unfortunately that Safety Car was exactly at the wrong time for my strategy and my race, so we really lost out there. 

“It was unfortunate, but you cannot control these things. But personally, I am very, very pleased – I drove a clean race, faultless – but that’s all I could ask for given I am an old rusty guy. So, very happy and proud of myself.”

Hulkenberg’s strategy was compromised by the Safety Car after Latifi’s incident on Lap 16. The new Team Principal of Aston Martin Mike Krack said that despite that, Nico had a phenomenal drive that weekend. In his words: “We decided to split our tyre strategy today – Lance [Stroll] started on mediums, Nico on hards – and the Safety Car that was deployed as a result of [Nicholas] Latifi’s Lap 16 accident at Turn 27 disadvantaged those who had started on hards. After that, Nico was always on the back foot, but he drove a solid race all the same and ended up 12th.

“Obviously, we are disappointed not to have scored any points today, but from here we will travel back to Silverstone, where we will work hard to improve our car for the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks' time.”

Hulkenberg admitted that all the craziness aside, he will look at the opportunity to get back into an F1 car with fondness. As he said: “Well, that last 10 days where very unexpected, very eventful, busy, very intense, but I enjoyed them in hindsight. I think in a few years' time I will look back on this with good memories and with happy memories.”

With Formula 1 heading to Melbourne for Australian GP, for round 3 of the 2022 season, it has been announced that Sebastian Vettel will be back behind the wheel of the Aston Martin car as scheduled.