Nico Hulkenberg, who will lose his Renault seat to Esteban Ocon at the end of the year, made a “phenomenal” contribution to the squad, according to team principal Cyril Abiteboul.
After announcing Ocon had been hired to join Daniel Ricciardo for the 2020 F1 season, Abiteboul paid tribute to Hulkenberg, who joined the team in 2017.“I wish to thank Nico for his phenomenal involvement and massive contribution to our progress over the past three seasons,” said Abiteboul.
“When Nico decided to join us, the team was ninth. He brought us to fourth place last year, and was classified seventh in the drivers’ championship.
“The imminent end of his contract made this decision a difficult one as Nico has been a pillar of this progress. The first part of this season has been more challenging, but I know we can count on him and deliver together throughout the second half of the year.”
Hulkenberg lies 14th in the championship on 17 points heading into the second part of the season. He is five points behind team mate Ricciardo.
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Ninjenius (@ninjenius)
29th August 2019, 13:24
Well, that’s the next Caption Competition picture decided then…
Horse
29th August 2019, 13:33
@ninjenius….
Cyril “See that up there Niko? That’s Renault written on le Constructeurs trophy in 2019. And wait, your name too! On the Drivers Championship! You see it?”
Niko “Er no, not quite. When did you say?”
Thanks.
Luke S (@joeypropane)
29th August 2019, 13:43
“You see that, Nico – way off in the distance, past the horizon and into the aether… That’s your podium”
Jere (@jerejj)
29th August 2019, 14:47
@joeypropane We already have a winner here, so no need to actually choose this photo for the next caption competition.
RocketTankski
29th August 2019, 13:57
Nico spots the giant “bienvenu Ocon” banners covering Renault HQ
Qeki
29th August 2019, 15:28
“Look Nico, everything that Toto touches is his kingdom.” What about that seat in Haas?”
“That is the inland empire of Gunther and Gene. You may need to go there.”
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
29th August 2019, 13:35
Where next for him?
Mercedes – Drivers under contract
Ferrari – Drivers under contract
McLaren – Drivers under contract
Red Bull – Unlikely
STR – Unlikely
Racing Point – Drivers under contract
Alfa – One seat possibly available
Haas – Most likely destination in my opinion
Williams – Possible but is he going to return with the state they are in?
Jere (@jerejj)
29th August 2019, 13:46
@tonyyeb Racing Point – Perez not yet, but looks quite likely to continue there yet again. Nevertheless, Haas, Alfa Romeo, and Williams are his only realistic options to remain in F1.
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
29th August 2019, 13:55
@jerejj Yeah true, as you say as good as a deal done there i’d imagine. Alfa will likely get another Ferrari Academy driver next to Kimi if Gio continues to be unimpressive?
Dr. Dan (@anikale)
29th August 2019, 13:52
RBR: Though it is unlikely, he may get a shot at Red Bull next year if Albon fails to perform this year as per RB’s expectation.
Bruno Verrari
29th August 2019, 13:37
French team, French driver – obviously.
Nico, the German driver, should have joined the German team Mercedes and enjoyed being on the podium at least every second race, instead of Valtteri… Unfortunately, his timing was a week (or so) out-of-phase…
Esploratore (@esploratore)
30th August 2019, 11:32
It was intended, he lost the seat because bottas got kept at mercedes.
Jelle van der Meer (@)
29th August 2019, 13:38
I can’t wait for Renault to kick out Abiteboul – he only pivtos, shouts, lies, makes wrong decision and except for some amusement he adds no value to F1
Cheryl (@)
30th August 2019, 8:06
You’ll be waiting a very time then.
Cheryl (@)
30th August 2019, 8:07
You’ll be waiting a very long time then.
Daniel
29th August 2019, 15:47
Hulkenberg really didn’t deserve that. They were in a pretty bad position before he arrived, he contributed most of their points in 2017/2018 and he drives a solid 2019 yet this is how they repay him.
IvoI (@ivostivanov)
29th August 2019, 18:54
I have to agree that without Nico, Renault woundn`t have gotten 6th in 2017 and 4th in 2018!
He helped a lot for the development of the car but was often hit by reliability problems. I am not saying that he was perfect. As we know, he blew away a couple of chances for podiums, but was quite consistent and brought lots of millions to the team with the finish places at the end of the years. It`s a pitty that Abitebul is acting like that and I have the feeling that this team won`t advance to the top tier of Formula 1 anytime soon. As for Nico, Alfa and Haas are quite interesting possibilities and maybe his time will be with one of this teams.
d0senbrot (@d0senbrot)
29th August 2019, 19:14
It would be easier for me to accept if this decision wasn’t carried out by the most incompetent F1 manager of late. I shouldn’t bear grudges, but I can’t help wishing Abiteboul failure.
prelvu (@prelvu)
30th August 2019, 4:09
Can’t wait for Renault fireworks btw two biggest ¤§§μ°Г€ drivers in F1
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
30th August 2019, 23:13
Lol. Nico is nice. But he is not Lewis grade fast.
It is very hard to judge a driver. It is hard to say who is the current best and almost impossible to say who is 7th best.
Would Ocon be far better? Who knows, but certainly younger.