 As Vandoorne joins Aston Martin, he vacates his previous role with Mercedes. The Formula E champion was, alongside Nyck de Vries, a reserve for the Silver Arrows' F1 operation, and now that both have left they will need at least one person to come in and take up their roles. Ricciardo has been linked with reserve roles at the top teams. Mirror Sport understands he has been in contact with Red Bull over a possible return, b){kind=link}
With Aston Martin bringing in new faces to act as reserve drivers for next season, Nico Hulkenberg looks free to return to the grid which would mean changes for Mick Schumacher and Daniel Ricciardo
Stoffel Vandoorne has joined Aston Martin as a reserve driver in a move which looks set to have major repercussions on the final pieces of the 2023 Formula 1 jigsaw.
The former McLaren driver joins the Silverstone-based team from next season. He will share reserve and test duties with Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich, who was snapped up as the first member of the team’s new driver development programme.
But, as it stands, Nico Hulkenberg is also a reserve with the team, having filled in for Sebastian Vettel for the opening two races of this campaign. The German has been linked with a return to the grid in 2023, and the signings of Drugovich and Vandoorne may well point to him being free to leave his current role.
That would mean bad news for Mick Schumacher, who is currently fighting for his F1 career. His Haas seat is the last one on the grid to be filled for next year, and Hulkenberg has been considered as the main contender to replace him if team principal Guenther Steiner decided to bring in a fresh face.