Aston said in a social media post that “We expect Sebastian Vettel to be fit for the Australian GP.”
Hülkenberg, who will make his fifth Covid substitute appearance since 2020, managed to out-qualify his team-mate Lance Stroll by two places when driving in Sakhir last week, lining up 17th for the season opener, but eventually finished last in what was a difficult weekend for both drivers and teams.
The former Williams, Force India, Sauber and Renault driver, who made his debut in 2010, extended his record of F1 starts without a podium to 180 last week and will most likely do the same again in Jeddah.
“After familiarising myself with the AMR22 in Bahrain last weekend, racing in Saudi Arabia will give me the opportunity to develop and further improve my understanding of the car,” Hülkenberg said via Aston this morning.
“In addition, the work I did back in the simulator earlier this week has given me some extra insight and helped me prepare for this fast and flowing track. Obviously, I wish Sebastian a speedy recovery, but I am really looking forward to the challenge and will be doing my best for the whole team this weekend.”