Nico Hulkenberg admits he’ll be taking it “lap by lap” at the Bahrain Grand Prix after his late call-up.
The German is replacing Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin for this weekend at least after the four-time world champion tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.
And speaking in Bahrain on Friday, he revealed it was a rollercoaster day to get to the Middle East.
“Just in the last 24 hours, I got called out of bed pretty much yesterday morning, got the news, packed up, and got going,” Hulkenberg told the media.
Hulkenback routine ?
I will do what I can to get up to speed as quickly as possible. Get well soon Seb! #f1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/7mSU8QLl5g— Nico Hülkenberg (@HulkHulkenberg) March 17, 2022
“I think it’s obviously a bit of an interesting situation again, so yes, I’m just going to take it lap by lap, session by session.
“I haven’t been in the car for five, six days [of pre-season testing], so it will probably take a few laps to get some of the rust off me and I’ll just take it easy and take my time to get used to it again.”
The last time Nico raced was the 2020 Eifel GP at the Nurburgring, one of three races he did that year again as reserve driver.
On two occasions he would finish in the points, but the prospect of jumping in and being competitive this time appears less likely.
“I know how it is to walk in the garage, to step in the car, I have that experience – for sure that will help me,” he suggested.
“But obviously I have the time away, these cars are completely new. The last time I came back, that was my benefit; I knew what that generation of cars was like and what I was going to get, more or less, but this is obviously a totally white piece of paper now.
“I think to really get the feeling again [will be the biggest challenge], to get a good harmony with the car, to find the limit,” Hulkenberg added.
“We’re just about to find out and kind of hit the ground running, so I just need to feel it, drive it, and obviously learn as fast as possible. But certainly, not an easy situation.”
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Hulkenberg also confirmed his only on-track action had been in the simulator since 2020, so it’s going to be tough few days ahead.
“Physically, for sure, the driving fitness is not there,” he said. “There’s going to be many challenges, there’s going to be an overload of information today.
“For me, it’s just about getting into the car, getting up to speed with and get a good feel.
“For sure the body is going to be sore too, but just to be back in a Formula 1 car, they’re the fastest cars in the world, it’s exciting of course.”
In Practice 1, Hulkenberg did 23 laps and set the 14th best time.