[Anonymous]

For someone who only 2/3 years ago was seen as a possible contender for almost every top seat, and then fall back to a permanent mid-grid resident, has the Le Mans win put Nico Hulkenberg’s name back in the limelight?

His name seems to be mentioned in many circles all of a sudden. We hear Kimi likely on his way out of Ferrari. And even if Bottas gets this seat, Hulkenberg is being mentioned to go to Williams – and a Williams with real podium (race win?!) potential, unlike the last time he was there.

With Max Verstappen still being an unknown quantity (speed but accidents too) could Hulkenberg be everyone’s useful second seat occupant?

[MazdaChris]

I think he rightfully deserves a seat in a top team. I thought that before he ever squeezed himself into a Le Mans prototype. There’s a curious thing within F1 where, even though everyone in F1 knows and understands that success is absolutely dependent on the car, a driver who has not won races through several years in F1 is soon considered to be yesterday’s man. Even when he’s never been in a car capable of getting at the sharp end.

I think F1 teams are always looking for the next big thing. Drivers like Verstappen are self-perpetuating hype machines while their careers are on an upward trajectory. Even established winners are vulnerable to getting the boot in favour of a driver who seems destined for success. Not to say of course that Verstappen doesn’t deserve the hype surrounding him at the moment, but drivers whose careers have plateaued shouldn’t be overlooked in this way.

To be honest, if nobody at the front is willing to give Hulkenberg a drive next year, and Porsche come to him offering a full time WEC drive, I think he should grab it with both hands and not look back. It’ll be F1’s loss, but he needs to think about what an opportunity that would be – Porsche have the backing, and the inclination, to be able to win championship after championship. Who knows, perhaps in another ten years’ time we might think of him alongside such legends as Tom Kristensen. That’s the opportunity he’d have, and I don’t see him ever getting anything like that where he is at the moment.

[PorscheF1]

To be honest, if nobody at the front is willing to give Hulkenberg a drive next year, and Porsche come to him offering a full time WEC drive, I think he should grab it with both hands and not look back. It’ll be F1’s loss, but he needs to think about what an opportunity that would be – Porsche have the backing, and the inclination, to be able to win championship after championship. Who knows, perhaps in another ten years’ time we might think of him alongside such legends as Tom Kristensen. That’s the opportunity he’d have, and I don’t see him ever getting anything like that where he is at the moment.

This not only counts for Hulkenberg but a lot of guys in GP2 and several others in F1 too…

[Author]

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