Nico Hulkenberg was preparing for a sports car race in Germany when he got the call from Racing Point asking him to fill in for Sergio Perez at the British Grand Prix.
Perez will miss the Silverstone race after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. Hulkenberg, who was Perez's teammate between 2014 and 2016 when Racing Point was called Force India, will race in his place.
It is yet to be confirmed whether he will do so again when F1 races at Silverstone for a second time next week.