Super sub Nico Hulkenberg took in his third F1 qualification of the season in Germany earlier today, and despite ending up P20, here's why it was a very impressive performance from the German driver.
On paper, qualifying dead last in front of your home fans in a car capable of fighting for top six finishes doesn't sound like the makings of a strong performance, however for 33-year-old German driver Nico Hulkenberg the start of his Eifel Grand Prix weekend was yet another display of talent that really should be on show full time in Grand Prix racing.
Firstly, let's look at the facts. Hulkenberg managed to get out onto the Nurburgring Grand Prix Circuit for the first part of qualification and completed four tours of a track he last raced a Grand Prix car on in 2013. At the same time, teammate and regular season driver Sergio Perez lapped 1 second faster than the German in the same car, progressing through to Q2 and an eventual ninth on the grid. On paper, this was not exactly at the level of his heroic Silverstone efforts.
Now let us take a look at the circumstances behind the Germans return to Racing Point.
At the British Grand Prix Hulkenberg was confirmed at the team on the Thursday prior to Free Practice, leaving the German with a handful of hours sleep, a seat fit, a Covid test and out on track for opening practice. At the time, many commented on the impressive showing considering the last minute nature of the deal.
This weekend, unbelievably, the deal came together even later than in Great Britain, as the German explains:
“It was even wilder and crazier than last time,” he said. “I was in Cologne which is an hour from here. I was due to come here this afternoon anyway, I was going to do some TV stuff from RTL tomorrow. I was sat with a friend having a coffee at 11am when I see that Otmar rings me and says ‘Hulkenberg, hurry we need you here’.
For someone who had no expectation and preparation, Hulkenberg had to drive to the circuit in his road car, take a Covid test, find some overalls and jump in the car for the first time in months, acquaint himself with an updated machine, and hit the track for just four laps in what many regard to be the tightest midfield battle in recent years. That's pretty tight timings even for a driver who's getting used to leaving driving duties to the last minute.
It isn't even like Hulkenberg had the same machine underneath him as at Silverstone, as the British squad have put plenty of development into the RP20 since the last time they needed the services of the former Renault driver.
“It felt quite different again to Silverstone, obviously a completely different circuit, the car has moved on too, there’s a couple of technical bits that are very different and give the driver a very different sensation, so I had to adjust around that a bit and find my feet again.
“In four laps that’s not so easy. All in all, even though I’m last, I’m quite pleased with the laps we’ve produced right now.”
We all know that elite sportspeople need confidence and experience in order to get the best from themselves at the level Formula One drivers operate, and to come into an ultra competitive environment like this, with absolutely zero preparation time and only four laps on which to perform, I think it's fair to say that Nico Hulkenberg performed at a much higher and more impressive level than the raw timesheets suggest.
Sergio Perez is absolutely no slouch in the sister Racing Point, and to end up 'only' 1 second shy of his Mexican teammates time, with several obvious losses of time thanks to lock-ups and a scruffy final chicane on his timed laps, it is easy to see where much of that deficit was left out on the circuit.
Will his third outing result in another haul of points? From P20 with only four laps on the books that will be a tall order, but whatever the result, Nico Hulkenberg once again demonstrated why he deserves a drive on the Formula One grid, in my opinion at least.
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