Sebastian Vettel jokes starting F1 season now is like starting school late after covid

Sebastian Vettel has said that he cannot wait to get driving again after missing the first two races of the Formula 1 season because of covid.

The Aston Martin driver missed both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, with Nico Hulkenberg standing in strongly, thanks to a positive covid test.

However, Vettel has recovered from his bout with the illness and can now get his season going, two races later than he obviously would have liked.

A popular figure on the grid, though, he’ll be looking forward to getting going in front of packed stands in Melbourne this weekend, and he’s joked it’ll be like getting to school but just a little later:

“After testing positive and missing the first two races, it feels a bit like arriving late to school, so I’m really keen to get going again!

“Starting my season in Australia is something I’ve done before, of course, and it’s also great that Formula One is returning after a difficult couple of years. For me, after nearly a month out of the car, it will be important to learn throughout the practice sessions, and I hope we can take some steps forward in what is usually an exciting and unpredictable race.”

Aston Martin have had a tough season so far but showed a little bit of progress in Saudi and will aim for more in Australia this weekend.

It must be nice to have their driver pairing back together, too, as the team can now try and press forwards, though you obviously have to give credit to Hulkenberg for the job he did whilst Vettel was away.

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