After losing his last full-time F1 drive – with Renault – at the end of the 2019 season, Hulkenberg attended three events for the Aston team known as Racing Point last season when its regular drivers were after Contagious with COVID-19 being unable to race.
Hulkenberg competed in the two races at Silverstone instead of Sergio Perez after testing positive for COVID on the eve of the British GP weekend – although Hulkenberg did not start the race after a bolt in the clutch of his car sheared off before the start, before he went on to take seventh place from a sensational third place on the grid at the subsequent 70th anniversary GP.
He then jumped in for Lance Stroll at the Eifel GP after the Canadian had felt uncomfortable during training – he was also only diagnosed with COVID after leaving the event at the Nürburgring.
Hulkenberg finished eighth after only taking part in qualifying and the race (he was only missing the only 60-minute FP3 session that was held as practice that weekend after the bad weather washed out the Friday run).
“First of all, it’s great that this deal was signed so early – last year I didn’t have that much time to prepare before getting in the car,” said Hulkenberg, who started for the squad in his Force India -Gown in 2012 and between 2014-2016.
“I’m really looking forward to working with this team again – with whom I have raced many times in my career.
“Of course I hope that Sebastian [Vettel, who has replaced Perez for 2021 at the rebranded Aston squad] and Lance are enjoying an uninterrupted season this year, but the team knows they can count on me to step in and do an excellent job and I am fully prepared to take on the challenge.
“It will also be interesting to develop the team further over the course of the season, and I’m really looking forward to getting great lap times up my sleeve.”
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Aston Team Principal and CEO Otmar Szafnauer added: “We are delighted to officially have Nico as reserve and development driver for [the] Aston Martin Formula 1 team.
“In these difficult times, the need for a capable and experienced replacement driver is particularly important.
“Last year, Nico proved that he can jump into the car straight away and perform excellently. Now, with additional leeway for preparation and integration, we know that we can rely on Nico to do an excellent job. “
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