A somewhat bitter good morning that of the eve of the race weekend in Bahrain at home Aston Martin.
Sebastian Vettel will not take part in the Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 as positive to Covid-19. He will be replaced by Nico Hulkenberg.
After last week's case involving the Australian driver of the McLaren Daniel Ricciardo, who had to miss the pre-season tests because he was positive, another episode of positivity has reached the paddock. Sebastian Vettel, who regularly took part in tests in Bahrain, although asymptomatic, failed to pass the routine checks to which the pilots and all the workers are subjected before each move. He will be taking his place in the seasonal debut Nico Hulkenberg, already used in 2020 since then Racing Point to replace the unavailable Throw Stroll e Sergio Perez.
There is one factor to take into consideration though. Before getting sick Ricciardo participated in the shooting on the starting grid organized by Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) as a gesture of solidarity with the Ukrainian population after the Russian invasion.
Although there are currently no other cases among the pilots, a possible infection that occurred on that occasion cannot be excluded.
What will happen now a Sebastian? The protocol provides for a quarantine seven days for positive cases. However, next week the teams will have to move in Saudi Arabia for the second appointment of the season and this could be a problem in the case Hag shouldn't turn negative in time.
