Nico Hülkenberg: Wild ride instead of coffee gossip

Before the Eifel Grand Prix, Canadian Lance Stroll was unavailable due to illness. Since the Rhinelander was in the region anyway, Racing Point team boss Otmar Szafnauer called him to the track on Saturday morning. Since Hülkenberg's outings at Silverstone, a lot of changes have been made to the car.

“It was even wilder and crazier than the last time,” the 33-year-old described his second turbo comeback in the Sky interview – or #hulkenback, as he himself called it on Twitter. When he received the call from Szafnauer, he was having coffee with a friend. “Hülkenberg, hurry up! We need you here,” the American then told him. “I quickly got in the car, drove over, and the rest is history.”

Hülkenberg sprints in for Lance Stroll. © POOL / INA FASSBENDER

After about an hour's drive from Cologne in his Porsche, the blonde boy also had to take a negative corona test at the Nürburgring. Afterwards there was at least a short meeting with the engineers. His seat no longer needed to be specially adjusted; Racing Point now has it with him at every racetrack, just in case. He borrowed the overalls from Stroll, who was feeling unwell. Hülkenberg made an impression Theoretically, Racing Point would also have had the contractually guaranteed option of using one of the two Mercedes replacement drivers, Esteban Gutierrez or Stoffel Vandoorne. The two of them have to remain available for the world champion squad on a Grand Prix weekend anyway. But the fact that Hülkenberg had already driven the current car was his great advantage. “It was easy to set up the car for him. He knows the car, he knows the team,” explained Szafnauer.

However, since the two Silverstone races at the beginning of August, the car has received a few upgrades. Reaching the second qualifying phase became a mission impossible for Hülkenberg. He finished 1,7th and last, 20 seconds behind Valtteri Bottas. “The first two laps were really crazy. It was a wild ride,” he said after his crazy day. But he hasn't lost his sense of humor. “Anything other than a race win would be a disappointment, to be honest,” joked Hülkenberg about his expectations for Sunday.

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Nico Hülkenberg: Wild ride instead of coffee gossip

Nico Hülkenberg is back in a Formula 1 car. For the second time this season, the German stepped in as a replacement driver for a Racing Point driver.

Suggestions

Comments (0)