“It feels a bit like arriving late to school!” – Sebastian Vettel

After missing the opening two rounds of the championship after testing positive for COVID-19, Sebastian Vettel is finally back this weekend as Formula 1 returns to Melbourne at last for the highly-anticipated Australian Grand Prix.

It has been the worst start to the season possible for Vettel, who tested positive right before the season began in Bahrain. The German was replaced by fellow German driver and Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team Reserve Driver, Nico Hülkenberg. The Four-Time World Champion is back in the seat of the AMR22 this weekend though, after finally testing negative.

Vettel can’t wait to finally start his season, and feels like he is running late for class!

“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.”

“Melbourne is such a great sporting city” – Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll has had a poor start to the season, the Canadian driver has under-performed at both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, leaving him with much to improve on going into this weekend.

Despite the poor start to the season, Stroll is feeling upbeat ahead of this weekend and is very much looking forward to getting going in Australia. The Albert Park Circuit has undergone some dramatic changes since the sport last raced around the venue in 2019, something which Stroll is hoping will make overtaking much easier.

“It’s fantastic to be able to return to Australia. Melbourne is such a great sporting city, and the Albert Park track is always fun to drive. I’m looking forward to sampling the revised layout and the resurfaced track, which will hopefully improve overtaking – especially into Turn 13, which has been tightened. In fact, it will be very interesting to see how these new ground-effect cars perform here, as they should also hopefully make racing closer and more exciting.”

Credit: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team