Top in Formula 1 this year, flop with Audi next year?

P6 in Austria, P6 in Silverstone, more points (16) from the last two race weekends than Sergio Perez (15). Nico Hülkenberg has recently outshone the Ferrari factory team with his brilliance on more than one occasion. That was not planned. A positive surprise before he is about to climb the Everest of Formula 1 with Audi in 2025.

Nico Hülkenberg: Good Haas performance surprised even us

“Austria was very good, the update in Silverstone brought even more performance and was another step forward. I think we are definitely one of the positive surprises this season,” said Nico Hülkenberg ahead of the Hungarian GP. “We were able to regain a lot of last year’s performance.”

Nico Hülkenberg’s move to Audi a failure? – Formula 1 Q&A (25:16 min.)

The Emmerich native is on 22 points at the halfway point of the 2024 Formula 1 season. In Japan, Miami, Imola, Canada and Spain, he also narrowly missed out on the top 10 five times, finishing 11th. “It’s been very good so far and it’s very pleasing to be in the running for points,” said Hülkenberg. “Our aim and goal is to keep it that way for the rest of the season.”

In 2023, Haas finished last in the Constructors’ World Championship with 12 points, and in 2024 the US racing team already has more than twice as many with 27. “We surprised ourselves a little bit right from the start during the winter tests in Bahrain,” recalls the 36-year-old. “We were in better shape than we could have expected.”

Nico Hülkenberg’s 2024 Formula 1 season so far

Run placement
Bahrain 16
Saudi Arabia 10
Australia 9
Japan 11
China 10
Miami 11
Imola 11
Monaco Accident
Canada 8th
Spain 10
Austria 14
Silverstone 10

“I think this has something to do with the restructuring of our team’s technical department and our organization,” Hülkenberg estimates. In 2024, Günther Steiner had to hand over his position to Ayao Komatsu after eight years with the team.

Since then, it has been running in Kannapolis, Dallara and Banbury. The VF-24 is (thanks to successful updates) the fourth or fifth fastest car in the field, depending on the weekend. “We’re trying to keep riding the good wave,” says the Emmerich native. “We have a good, consistent package that allows us to be competitive on any type of race track.”

Per aspera ad astra: Nico Hülkenberg believes in Audi

Quite the opposite of Nico Hülkenberg’s future employer. Sauber is struggling from one disastrous weekend to the next and is the only Formula 1 racing team that has not scored any points this season. But you won’t find any sadness or melancholy in the Haas driver.

“I’m not worried,” says the Emmerich native. “Yes, it will definitely be a difficult year. But it is the first year of hopefully many and it is the beginning of a long road.” In addition, the narrow gaps or bad luck made the situation at the future Audi factory team often looks worse than it actually is.

“And I also know that things could look completely different in eight or ten months, when next year’s season starts,” says Hülkenberg. “So I’m completely calm and relaxed.”

Things aren’t calm and relaxed at Red Bull at the moment. Sergio Perez’s seat is wobbling, Yuki Tsunoda is waiting. You can find out all about it here.

Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *