NICO HULKENBERG suffered a freak eye injury during day one of Formula 1 testing in Bahrain yesterday.
The German, 37, had been on track for four hours before requiring medical treatment for his eye.
Hulkenberg had completed 55 laps as he looked to get to grips with his new car.
Towards the end of his session, however, a “speck of dust or sand” got stuck in his eye.
According to the Sky Germany, the unfortunate incident occurred as mechanics performed grinding work on Hulkenberg’s Sauber in the garage.
Following his session, the F1 veteran had been expected to attend a press conference.
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He was a no-show, however, with it later emerging that he had been with doctors at the time.
Thankfully, Hulkenberg’s issue was not deemed to be serious.
And today he has been back on track for day two of testing.
Earlier this morning he was able to complete more laps in his new Sauber C45.
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Hulkenberg joined Sauber ahead of this season following two years with Haas.
He and new team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto replaced Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
Veteran Hulkenberg made his F1 debut in 2010.
He has since driven for Williams, Force India, Sauber, Renault, Racing Point, Aston Martin and Haas.
Last season he finished 11th in the driver standings, collecting 41 points.
Yesterday’s testing was Lewis Hamilton‘s first opportunity to get a feel for his new Ferrari.
The session was interrupted by a power cut at around 5pm, which lasted for more than an hour.
On the incident, Mercedes star George Russell told Sky Sports: “I came out of the pits and thought it was suddenly quite dark out here.
“I came on the radio and said I needed to change my visor and I realised there was no floodlights around.
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“It would have been a bit hectic if this was an hour later when the sun has already set.”
The new season is set to get underway in Australia on March 16.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
