Nico Hulkenberg says he doesn’t feel like he is retiring from Formula 1, despite having seemingly run out of options to remain on the grid for 2020.
Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Alfa Romeo have all finalised their driver line-ups for the 2020 F1 season since the last race. That leaves Williams as the only team with a possible vacancy for Hulkenberg, though he has indicated he is unlikely to return to the team which gave him his grand prix debut nine years ago.However Hulkenberg says he doesn’t feel like he is about to call time on his participation in F1.
“Just to be clear, I don’t feel like I’m retiring,” he said. “I’m not, as a race driver. I don’t feel I’m leaving Formula 1. I might not be on the grid, but if there is an opportunity. I’m going to be ready.”
While Hulkenberg’s chances to remain in F1 racing next year have dwindled, he indicated he may consider a part-time stint in IndyCar. “I guess, yes, on one side,” he said when asked.
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“To be honest, my state of mind is pretty relaxed that I want to finish the season, obviously as successfully as possible. And then after that I just want to rewind a little bit, take a moment for myself, or two or three, see what I want to do, see what seems of interest.
“I’m certainly not having the feeling that I want to rush into something just to race. So I’m pretty relaxed about it.”
Hulkenberg does not want to race on the ovals which make up five races on the 2020 IndyCar calendar. “Ovals I’ve always said I’m not a fan of,” he said. “It just doesn’t strike me and I think I also have too much respect for that. It just seems not my thing. So I would keep it limited to the road courses.”
While he indicated he may not take a decision on his future until the new year, Hulkenberg said report he could race in the DTM were “without any substance”.
“That was just someone, I don’t know [who], I guess being too bored at home and creating stories from nothing. It’s nothing with substance, really.”
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DAllein (@)
14th November 2019, 20:32
I was never a true fan of Nico, but suddenly I feel a bit sad.
Really hope he finds something fun to do.
He already had a win in LeMans, he definitely can return to WEC and do good there.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
14th November 2019, 20:34
F1’s history is full of absolutley fantastic drivers that never won a championship, a race, or a podium and Hulkenberg’s got to be high on that list.
faulty (@faulty)
14th November 2019, 21:09
Wouldn’t it be cool if he somehow managed to drink from the bottle of milk before Alonso did?
Just like he won at LeMans before he did.
Mwahaha
Hugh (@hugh11)
14th November 2019, 21:11
Other than the part where he said he wouldn’t race the ovals
Jere (@jerejj)
14th November 2019, 21:29
”That was just someone, I don’t know [who], I guess being too bored at home and creating stories from nothing.”
– LOL, savage.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
14th November 2019, 23:50
Sad to see Nico leave. I was not a fan per se, however I always felt that he deserved a chance in a decent car. You can argue that some of his teammates (Perez) ended on the podium on a number of occasions, but those were abnormal results, the car was not good enough to finish on the podium, the stars aligned.
If we are to believe the folklore, he had a deal with Ferrari for 2014, until LdM (or was it Marchionne?) pulled the plug in favour of Kimi, because Fernando was on the verge of quitting. Imagine an alternate reality where he ended up at Ferrari, I would imagine he’d have been quicker than Kimi. Would have been interesting to see how he’d stack up against Seb, who’m I think Nico can match for pace.
Sad that he leaves F1 without a podium. Who knows, maybe Seb will have a meltdown next year and Ferrari will draft Nico in?!
anon
15th November 2019, 8:11
@jaymenon10, from some of the comments that Nico made in the past, whilst Ferrari did approach him in 2014, it sounds as if the talks probably weren’t quite as advanced as some have suggested.
Nico has said that he was unsure quite how close Ferrari were to making an offer so, as a minimum, it would seem to discount the claim that he had a deal in place – they were advanced enough for a seat to seem plausible, but seemingly not advanced enough for a contract offer to be made.
Craig Simons
15th November 2019, 0:04
What are the five stages of grief, again?
magon4 (@magon4)
15th November 2019, 7:22
Nico has missed out one season already (2011), despite not having a bad season (2010).
I feel that if any driver on the grid is not performing next year, Nico will be in the shadows…
GeeMac (@geemac)
15th November 2019, 9:11
I’m hoping he can find a seat for 2021, he’s too talented a driver not to. Considering that 2021 will be a fresh start for everyone on the grid, if he can find his way back into a seat, he shouldn’t be at too much of a disadvantage particularly if he keeps racing in 2020.
Hulkenberg is too talented a driver not to be in F1. He’s won in every category he’s raced in and is very, very quick. I’m hopeful something will come up for him.
mmertens (@mmertens)
15th November 2019, 12:57
For me he’s a driver like Nick Heidfeld, good, with solid driving skills but that ultimately lacks the capacity to perform at the highest level without doing mistakes. I’d say he had a fair chance to show and succeed at F1, and he’s better than other drivers that are there for sure, but I cannot see him coming back, unless is for one of the possible new teams in 2021.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
15th November 2019, 13:02
I have to say, I’ve been a bit disappointed with the Hulk this year. Over his career he’s had a number of stand-out performances (2010 and 2012 Brazil, and also his 2013 campaign looked very strong) that made me think: perhaps he is one of the quickest guys out there, even if in the races he went backwards a little too often, somewhat similar to another driver I admire: Will Power.
However, this season up against Ricciardo he has fallen short. Not by a huge margin, but enough for me that the “what might have been” questions are a little less interesting.
GechiChan (@gechichan)
15th November 2019, 13:41
Why not try to get a spot in FormulaE, should be better than driving for Williams next season. Renault has a pretty good team there (the Nissan eDams) and in my opinion Nico is perfectly capable of replacing one of their drivers (Buemi / Rowland).
DonSmee (@david-beau)
15th November 2019, 15:03
He should have agreed to the one year offer at Renault. I bet next year a Renault driver will get a podium!