Nico Hulkenberg sceptical about podiums with Sauber in 2013 – Formula 1 news
Sauber’s new signing Nico Hulkenberg is unsure of the team’s podium prospects in the 2013 Formula 1 season.
Hulkenberg joined Sauber from Force India in what will be his third season in the sport. He put up a decent performance with the Vijay Mallya-sponsored team and finished the drivers’ championship in 11th position with 63 points. He also showed
great consistency as he only retired from two races out of the twenty in the season. His best finish remained a fourth, which he picked up in Spa. He could have easily managed to win the final race of the season as he was leading the pack in Brazil, but had
to settle for a fifth place in the end as he spun at one point.
Sauber on the other hand, managed to put up a very good performance as they took four podium finishes with Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez. Seeing Perez’s performance, McLaren snapped him up for the 2013 season as their second driver after Lewis Hamilton
announced his departure.
Hulkenberg, despite joining Sauber for the 2013 season, remains sceptical about scoring podiums with his new team.
“I wouldn't talk about scoring podiums at this point because it's too early,” he told the latest edition of Autosport. “Nobody knows where the cars are going to be. But I see the potential there and I hope that we can achieve a good things, whatever that
may be.”
However, he does not think Sauber is the team where he will stay forever. He sees this opportunity with Sauber as a stepping stone to bigger and better teams in the future.
“I think it will be a new situation once I am in a top car and obviously there will be more attention,” he said. “It will take a bit of time to learn and to adapt but I think that I could handle it.”
The 2013 Formula 1 season officially gets underway in the first week of February with the first pre-season test in Jerez, Spain. The first race of the season though, will be held in Melbourne, Australia in the last week of March. Let’s see if Hulkenberg
manages to impress with his new team.
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