Hulkenberg ‘agrees Renault deal’ for 2017

41 comments on “Hulkenberg ‘agrees Renault deal’ for 2017”

1. 

   GT Racer (@gt-racer)
   14th October 2016, 0:17

   Renault also seem to have started talk’s with Valtteri Bottas.

   Making the move to Renault right now is a big gamble as they have lost a lot of people & it’s going to take a few years to rebuild.
   1. 

      @HoHum (@hohum)
      14th October 2016, 1:15

      @gt-racer, true but joining any team in F1 can be a big gamble, Ferrari, McLaren, RBR Renault, Williams, all sure bets for a title winner that wasn’t.
      1. 

         Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
         14th October 2016, 10:14

         @gt-racer @hohum The wheels are moving:

         https://www.racefans.net/2016/10/14/force-india-confirm-hulkenberg-exit/
   2. 

      Mashiat
      14th October 2016, 5:18

      @gt-racer Renault is only a safety option for him
   3. 

      Joao (@johnmilk)
      14th October 2016, 8:33

      What about that seat at force india? Wherlein?

      It seems like Renault didn’t manage to lure Perez in and went for what they think is the 2nd best option, his teammate
2. 

   Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
   14th October 2016, 0:27

   @Xtwl I feel your pain, mate. It was already difficult without mark in F1. Somehow the guy just became a legend for me, and I couldn’t stop following him. It’s funny how fanatics are… No matter the facts, no matter when or what, you just hang to your passion, your team, your player or driver and you don’t let him go.

   Only for him to leave… What now? Who do I support? What’s the motivation now? It’s hard to answer those questions…

   Thank you mark for all these years. And thank you for not becoming a decadent sportsman, trailing the field in a rubbish car from an unknown team. Always at the top, finishing on high. That’s something not many people manage to achieve.
   1. 

      PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
      14th October 2016, 17:05

      @fer-no65 Can you believe reading my very own comment brought a tear to my eye, Jesus…

      Haven’t shed a tear since, well, last year when he won the world title…

      Now that he’ll be out of the WEC too I’ll really have to start looking for a new favourite driver. I’ve never really processed he went out of F1 as he was right there in another category I also loved.
3. 

   Scottie (@scottie)
   14th October 2016, 0:38

   So is there any indication of when Lewis hurt his foot?
   Is this like Mark Webber nursing his ribs a few years back, we’ll never know until a few seasons later?
   1. 

      @HoHum (@hohum)
      14th October 2016, 1:11

      Probably hurt it by kicking his car in Malaysia, don’t you think?
   2. 

      MB (@muralibhats)
      14th October 2016, 1:35

      https://mobile.twitter.com/LewisHamilton/status/786289826882478081/photo/1
      1. 

         Night Fury (@toothless)
         14th October 2016, 9:25

         lol good one mate
   3. 

      Jorge Olivier
      14th October 2016, 6:03

      Considering he drove in Japan Sunday, arrived to Europe the next day and was scheduled to drive on Wednesday, I would say either sleeping in the airplane from Japan or snapchatting Tuesday.
      1. 

         Jorge Olivier
         14th October 2016, 6:12

         But he was re-scheduled for Thursday when he didn’t show up on Wednesday, and only on Thursday he had a foot injury, so maybe he knew Tuesday he would have a injury on Thursday but couldn’t drive on Wednesday either. So it was Wednesday!
         1. 

            ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
            14th October 2016, 6:42

            Crystal clear
4. 

   AmbroseRPM (@ambroserpm)
   14th October 2016, 3:39

   About the Australian GP, I wouldn’t worry about the Victorian Greens, they are a fringe political group with very little credibility. The left wing groups in Victoria have been complaining about the Australian Grand Prix for years.

   As to New South Wales, I live in Sydney and I couldn’t think of a place to put it. Running it around the city is just not practical. We have enough traffic issues at the best of times, let alone when the CBD is blocked off. I’d love it to be in Sydney but it isn’t quite practical.
   1. 

      dragoll (@dragoll)
      14th October 2016, 3:44

      Given the below article yesterday, the Australian GP should be in no doubt. I can understand not having the race because its expensive when you cannot afford it, however $2.7bn surplus suggests that the GP should remain in Melbourne for the foreseeable future.
      http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/cashedup-victoria-records-a-27-billion-surplus-20161013-gs1est.html
   2. 

      Stig Semper Fi (@stigsemperfi)
      14th October 2016, 4:33

      If it was here in NSW then there is only one place it should be held. You can probably guess where. However, the track would need upgrading to meet the criteria for a grade 1 license from the FIA. Then there may be an issue of accommodation for fans visiting from other countries as well.
      1. 

         AmbroseRPM (@ambroserpm)
         14th October 2016, 7:39

         Sydney Motorsport Park? I think it would need a lot of work to be up to holding F1 races.
      2. 

         Neil (@neilosjames)
         14th October 2016, 7:59

         Part of me would love to see it, but making Mount Panorama F1-standard would be as much a crime as re-plastering the roof of the Sistine Chapel.
         1. 

            Stig Semper Fi (@stigsemperfi)
            14th October 2016, 13:38

            Catch fencing would be needed as well. Not just for the cars but it could keep the kangaroos out as well.
         2. 

            Stig Semper Fi (@stigsemperfi)
            14th October 2016, 13:39

            Catch fencing would be needed as well. Not just for the cars but to keep the kangaroos out as well.
   3. 

      Mick Harrold (@mickharrold)
      14th October 2016, 8:09

      The funniest thing about that article is that it is reported in The Guardian. A UK Paper (I think?). I did a quick search of all the Australian papers and not one local newspaper is actually covering that story. Not one mention in any of them. Just goes to show how much impact their statement has down here. The GP is here to stay for at least a good while.
5. 

   dragoll (@dragoll)
   14th October 2016, 3:47

   HULK moving to Renault seems a little premature to me. Again, I don’t understand what Renault have got in planning for next year, but I expected them to be comfortably ahead of HAAS this year, and that hasn’t been the case. I think the HULK is one of the most overlooked drivers for top drives, that we’ve had in recent years. The guy has bucket loads of talent, not the sharpest mind, but definitely worth a shot, IMHO. In any case, I’ll continue to support him in the French team.
   1. 

      zimkazimka (@zimkazimka)
      14th October 2016, 4:27

      Fairly simple, I think. Renault has the cash to fight with the big boys. Force India doesn’t. The sooner he gets there, the faster the team will be built around him to fight for the top.
   2. 

      Philip (@philipgb)
      14th October 2016, 5:34

      The time for the top 4 teams to come calling has been and gone for him. Renault may be a bit of a Hail Mary for him, he might even be making a backwards step for 2 years but it’s similar to Alonso’s logic. At Force India he’s in a team that can snag the odd podium but it’s unlikely to deliver him a win, and there is pretty much no chance of a championship.

      If he doesn’t jump ship now while they’re off form another driver could seize that chance and box him out.
   3. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      14th October 2016, 6:14

      Maybe it seems a bit like that to Hulk too @dragoll. But on the other hand, what are the chances that FI will be able to keep their relative position into next year? And being beaten by Perez in FI is not going to do his career any good either.

      So why not take a step aside, go for Renault to be there if/when they do get sucessfull? If they are talking to the likes of Hulk, Bottas and before that Perez, they certainly seem to be confident of making a good step forward with next year’s car (not a surprise, given that their “2016” car is still more or less the same mid 2015 Lotus with an ill fitting engine).
   4. 

      anon
      14th October 2016, 6:41

      @dragol, in retrospect, I’m less surprised that Haas beat them – both Renault and Haas are essentially using a modified 2015 spec chassis for this year, but in the case of Haas the original car that was used as a development base was more competitive to begin with and suffered from less disruption during the development phase.
      1. 

         Maddme
         14th October 2016, 9:41

         A couple of months back, Renault were talking about using the 2014 chassis as a basis for the 2017 chassis (I know there’s going to be huge differences and modifications), which seems to be a further step back… I was actually quite surprised that as of then, they didn’t have someone they could consider a decent designer of their own for the 2017 setup…
   5. 

      Matthijs (@matthijs)
      14th October 2016, 7:40

      @dragoll This Enstone-based team has the history of quick recovery. After a succesful campaign in the nineties, they (Benetton) were nowhere in 2001 (7th team). After the Renault takeover, they were fighting for victories in 2003. After great succes in the zeroes they again weren’t competitive in 2011. But from 2012 onwards they (this time Lotus) were fighting for victories again, and again after a takeover (or at least a financial injection).

      I’m not saying history will repeat itself, but Enstone does have a history of comebacks after a takeover.
   6. 

      bosyber (@bosyber)
      14th October 2016, 7:41

      I think both @bascb and @philipgb answer why it seemed like a good move for Hulkenberg @dragoll; I think with the benefit of hindsight it need not be a big surprise that Haas has been doing better than Renault this year: Haas prepared for this season, and did that quite well; in contrast, Lotus apparently had no money, few people that were certain of a job, and spent most of the autumn last year waiting for a Renault takeover instead of developing the car for 2016, so the car for this year was an underdeveloped mess with a haphazardly integrated, less powerful, engine.
6. 

   Kgn11
   14th October 2016, 5:18

   So it looks increasingly likely that Lewis will be the only British driver on the grid next year.

   Any idea when was the last time there had been so few on the grid?
7. 

   Crashandburn
   14th October 2016, 6:16

   HUL hasn’t showed anything this season in F.I . – permanent behind PER.. I don’t see the light in him… but Renault could save HIS butt. So for him its a golden egg… 3 more years in F1 without beating your teammate..congratulations HUL.. :-)
   1. 

      Patrick (@paeschli)
      14th October 2016, 12:07

      2014 drivers standings
      Hulkenberg : 96
      Perz : 59

      I fully expect him to beat his team-mate next year.
8. 

   Illusive (@illusive)
   14th October 2016, 6:26

   Does this means Pascal gets to drive FI, good opportunity for MB to test him.
   1. 

      Patrick (@paeschli)
      14th October 2016, 12:07

      I think Ocon is more likely to get the drive.
9. 

   Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
   14th October 2016, 7:56

   $60m in tax needed for 2016 GP. So that isn’t even the total cost of hosting a GP…. It’s outragious if you ask me. No tax payer should be ok with that anywhere.
10. 

    Reganamer
    14th October 2016, 9:05

    Hope Magnuson stays on. Exciting to see who will be in at Williams and F.I for 2017!!
    Cars will surely be more ‘pointy’/less front limited next year… they’ll need to cope with higher sustained G forces as well.

    There could be a shift in the perceived best drivers on the grid based on cars suiting a different driving technique. Maybe RAI gets a natural advantage over VET; VER consistently out-qualifying RIC; maybe some backmarkers suddenly start performing better relative to teammates?? Also would have been interesting between PER and HUL…

    Can only see HAM and ROS being equally matched based on how they fared in GP2 and pre-2009 cars.

    Can’t wait :D
11. 

    Levente (@leventebandi)
    14th October 2016, 9:14

    Honestly I would go for the empty seat Webbo left at Porsche instead of joining Renault.
12. 

    GeeMac (@geemac)
    14th October 2016, 9:41

    I can see Hulkenberg’s logic here, he’s probably accepting that he will have to take a bit of short term pain for a potential long term gain with a manufacturer team. He is probably also thinking that Renault have sacrificed 2016 after taking over from Lotus late in the day and 2017 will be their first “proper” season as a works outfit, so they should be higher up the order next season. I can also see Renault’s logic, Hulkenberg has been a consistently high performer in F1 since 2010, so he has the experience and the personality to lead the team.

    I am a little worried for Hulkenberg because the recent reports are that the Enstone operation is a bit rudderless. If f1 history teaches us anything, it is that teams don’t win world championships without solid leadership, no matter how much money they have. Hopefully the likes of Bob Bell or Fred Vassuer could take the team by the scruff of the neck and give it some direction.
13. 

    Park
    14th October 2016, 10:02

    I believe Hulk will become a GP winner in 2 years, and probably ahead of Perez, Bottas and Grosjean to achieve this success.
14. 

    Miane
    14th October 2016, 17:19

    I think some drivers (Barrichello, Webber, Massa, Rosberg now, etc) come really close to be a F1 champion and they really deserved at least 1 title. It’s a shame that a few drivers win many seasons, even in circunstances that they are not particularly driving better than these names.

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