If you change the tenth and thus last in the Formula 1 designer World Cup, you can not expect a miracle thing with the same regulations – Nico Hülkenberg had already sufficiently communicated this in the run -up to his second term.
So no surprise that the neon green from Hinwil did not seem to have given up the red lantern at the end of the field at the beginning of the last season: in the final accounts of all test times, Hülkenberg occupies the 19th and penultimate place, a position behind new team colleague Gabriel Bortoleto.
“Sky” expert Ralf Schumacher also judges in Bahrain on Friday: “The clean is back where it was last year. Nico will still need a lot of patience,” comments the former Formula 1 pilot and adds: “This is a bit of a shame from a German perspective.”
Hülkenberg about the red Formula 1 lantern: “was to be expected”
After the test, Hülkenberg’s conclusion is sober: “It was three very intensive days with many impressions that we now have to process. It is good that we have the coming week to reflect on and analyze everything. I think we still have work in front of us, but that doesn’t really surprise us.”
The German explains: “This was to be expected when you consider where the team was in the past year.” But Hülkenberg also makes it clear that his mission at the future work team of the Ingolstadt workers is not a short -term one: “It is of course the beginning of a journey together, an ongoing process. But that is exactly what I enjoy. Everything is new and you discover a lot of things in a completely new car.”
Because of the results, it is now in panic, that is nonsense-rather the test is used to “get to know the vehicle, to understand how it reacts to different set-up changes, and to find out as well as possible,” says Hülkenberg, who still reports from a few changes: “Every car, every team has its own special features.
“The driving experience is different, there are different vibrations, perhaps other air currents. So I am still in the discovery phase,” says the German – and they will continue for a while: “In the next ten races, it will continue to be a phase in which you are increasingly getting used to everything, processes become more automated and eventually work blindly.”
Bortoleto offers Hülkenberg his help
Keyword blind: Something that seems to work right away when clean is the team chemistry between Hülkenberg and his new stable companion. On the first day of the test, the German got a little in the eye at the end of his run, so the press round had to leave out after the session. Bortoleto got wind of it and went straight to Hülkenberg’s driver’s room.
“He just came in and said: ‘If you need something, we have a big first aid box in my room. If you need help, just let me know’, the German reveals with a smile when he is asked about it from Motorsport.com, a sister platform by” Motorsport-Total.com “in motorsport network:” That was very nice of him. “
So the climate in the racing team already fits the returnee, which causes a positive mood for him: “I have the feeling that we are in a solid starting position, similar to my previous team changes. This is a process that every driver goes through when he joins a new team,” the new clean pilot remains optimistic.“
Shows with a driver who is completely satisfied …
Hülkenberg’s many experience helps him and also ensures a certain calm with him: “After all the years that I am now, I no longer compare round times in the tests and do not look at the competition”, he does not let the first impressions unsettle and adds: “I find this whole speculation tiring. In Melbourne, the cards are put on the table, then we know more.”
Although he indicates that even then, of course, not everything in stone has been chopped: “Things are in constant movement, and we will find out early enough,” Hülkenberg does not want to participate in conjectures. But it is clear: “Our starting point was not outstanding, we definitely had to fight with some challenges. But shows me a driver who is completely satisfied after the tests – I don’t think so.”
However, since the developments are ongoing anyway, Hülkenberg is not worried – especially because 2025, not only because of the approaching Audi arrival, will be a special year for the team: “We want to achieve the best possible with the existing means, but at the same time it is essential that we are already developing, step by step, with regard to the coming years.”
In 2026, a completely new regulations come – and for the new Audi team, it may also be one or the other better chance around the corner: “Everything happens at the same time, and that is exactly the challenge. Our focus is on further developing our overall package, our organization and our infrastructure,” said Hülenberg: “And in about ten days we will have a first assessment.”