Hulkenberg warns Vettel: 'He will start on the backfoot'

Sebastian Vettel will finally be back in action in Australia after the German had to miss the first two races of the season due to a positive covid test. Nico Hulkenberg, however, warns that he will start with a deficit.

Before the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Vettel tested positive for Covid-19, but he was also forced to miss the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix a week later after failing to show a negative test.

Nico Hulkenberg was called up by Aston Martin to replace the four-time world champion. The other drivers on the grid have already been able to get used to the new cars, so Vettel will have to work hard when he steps into his AMR22.

Work to do for Vettel

"Obviously he’s lacking those two races so he will start a little bit on the backfoot. But I think you know, he’s very skilled, very talented. I think he’s capable of catching up but for sure he has a bit more work to do and he needs to dig a little bit deeper to try and make up for it," Hulkenberg is quoted by Motorsportweek.com.

Aston Martin, like Williams, has yet to score any points after the first two races. It seems that Aston Martin has built one of the worst cars this year, so the team will desperately need Vettel's experience as they continue to develop the car.