Jeddah (dpa) – Sebastian Vettel threatens to miss the second race of the Formula 1 season because of his corona infection.
The 34-year-old was not able to submit a negative test for the trip to Saudi Arabia on Thursday either, his team Aston Martin said. Therefore, the racing team postponed the decision on whether the four-time world champion will compete in the Grand Prix at the weekend until Friday.
Should Vettel drop out, as he did at the season opener in Bahrain, he would again be represented by his compatriot Nico Hulkenberg. The Rhinelander has already traveled to Jeddah and could be in the car again for the training sessions on Friday.
Bad start to second season
Vettel had tested positive for the virus the previous week and had quarantined himself in his adopted home of Switzerland. For the man from Heppenheim, it’s the worst possible start to his second season with the private British team. In the new racing year with heavily changed rules and completely new cars, the ex-champion wanted to catch up with the top again after the previous season had been largely sobering.
But after the impressions of the opening race, Aston Martin is facing another tough year. In Sakhir, reserve driver Hülkenberg in 17th and regular driver Lance Stroll in 12th clearly missed out on scoring points. Compared to the competition, the team seems to have been left behind for the time being.
In this phase in particular, Vettel’s failure was particularly bitter, said team boss Mike Krack. “It happened at a time when we really didn’t need it. We now lack a reference point due to the last-minute driver change,” explained Krack.