HULKENBURG IS BACK!

Nico Hulkenburg is back in F1 adding to yet another unbelievable thing that has happened in 2020.

Its a story straight out of a fiction book. Actually scratch that – even fiction writers couldn’t have scripted this. Nico Hulkenburg is a driver of class. He has been in the F1 paddock for more than 10 years, being a solid mid-field driver. Unfortunately, he also has a record which no driver would want – highest number of races completed without ever being on the podium. Hulk came agonizingly close to a podium but due to bad luck and/or his mistakes the podium remained elusive.

No seat for Hulkenburg

F1 has only 20 seats which naturally are highly coveted. In the musical chair that goes behind the scene, Hulkenburg ended up without a seat for the 2020 season. He didn’t want to leave F1 but had no option. Anyway he kept his head high and faded away. 

Cut to 2020. A virus has turned the world upside down. Anything and everything we know – education, work, sports – has been deeply affected and Formula 1 is no different. The F1 show had to be cancelled just a few hours before the start at Australian GP, as two McLaren guys were tested positive for coronavirus. All the races afterwards were either postponed or cancelled. As the pandemic slowly subsided in Europe, races started in Europe again with strict protocols and no audience.

Corona curse

In the two week break between races, Sergio Perez – who is in prime form and has a solid car to drive – went to Mexico to meet his family. Somehow somewhere in between he caught the virus and tested positive after returning to the Silverstone racetrack. As per the British healthcare guidelines he has to self-isolate for at least 10 days, implying that he will miss both the British GPs. Thankfully he seems healthy and not showing any symptoms and weakness.

Now the next question was – who will replace Sergio to drive the really good second Racing Point car? RP had the option to choose Mercedes reserve driver Stoffel or Esteban. Stoffel had Formula E commitments in Berlin. Esteban was available but an experienced Nico Hulkenburg was obviously a much better choice if he was available.

Not only does he know much of the personnel very well, having previously raced for the squad when they ran under the Force India banner, but he remains a very quick and competitive option. And he is the best available driver regarding recent F1 experience having competed for Renault last year, alongside Daniel Ricciardo.

Hulkenburg was in Germany and about to leave for some tv commitments when he got a call from Racing Point team principal at around 4:30pm on Thursday. He packed a bag and was on a plane within hours. On landing in the UK, he had a Covid-19 test and then headed to the Racing Point factory, opposite Silverstone, for a seat fit. In the meantime, the team began arranging overalls. Fortunately, he fitted – perhaps a little snugly – into a pair of Stroll’s.

Is Hulkenburg prepared to drive the RP20?

The German was expected to arrive at the circuit at 8am, three hours before FP1. But there was to be another twist, as Hulkenberg was nowhere to be seen at that time.

It emerged he did another test that morning and was awaiting those results. Without it, he was not allowed to enter the circuit, let alone the paddock, as per Covid-19 protocols.

Cue several hours of waiting, which gave the team time to fill in the relevant paperwork to allow Hulkenberg to drive, and allowed the German time to run through protocols such as spending 45 minutes learning the steering wheel.

Nico grabbed his overalls and made a bee-line for the garage when the test results came negative.

Is Hulkenberg up to the challenge?

It’s a huge opportunity for Hulkenberg, and the kind that very few drivers ever have the fortune to receive, particularly when it’s with a team that has the second-best car on the grid and is in podium contention this weekend.

It’s also a big ask. Silverstone is a high-speed and demanding circuit. Hulkenberg has maintained a good level of fitness, but it’s going to be a huge challenge physically, this weekend, after so much time out of a F1 car. Just ask Lando Norris, who suffered bruising in Austria, having lacked recent F1 mileage.

But Hulkenberg will deal with that as it comes. He knows he now has this weekend – and almost certainly next – at Silverstone to achieve his two ambitions: Score a maiden podium after 179 Grands Prix weekends as a race driver and prove to those that matter in the paddock that he deserves a full-time seat in 2021.

Going by the first two practice sessions, he doesn’t seem that rusty. Although he did complain about his bum getting sore. He was just 0.6 seconds behind teammate Lance Stroll which is mighty impressive given that he had no idea he will be in a Formula 1 car even 24 hours ago.

It seems unlikely but if somehow Hulkenburg can snatch a podium in either of the two races then it will be more than a fairy tale story. Weirder things have happened in F1, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.