Nico Hulkenberg surprised after struggling in a “tough” rookie season
Nico Hulkenberg joined Williams this year becoming a part of Formula One. Nico was unable to match the pace of his teammate Rubens Barrichello but it seems that he was able to prove his worth and make his name after scoring a pole
position at the Brazilian Grand Prix in a mid-running team.
Nico was able to secure the titles in Formula 3, GP2 and A1 GP as well and after a rookie season in Formula One, the German stated that it is not as easy as it looks to be a F1 driver. However, Hulkenberg was lucky enough to race
alongside the most experienced driver in Formula One history, Rubens Barrichello and obviously, he got to learn more than the rest of the rookies that joined the sport this year.
“The low point was in Shanghai and Istanbul where we weren’t competitive at all. I realised quickly through my team-mate Rubens Barrichello how important it is to have experience in this sport,” said Nico.
It is quite clear that Hulkenberg has something more to offer than the many of the other rookies but he was bluntly kicked out of Williams after Pastor Maldonado was signed, clearly because of the fact that he had a major sponsor
from PDVSA behind him. Pastor is a great driver without a shadow of a doubt, but Nico deserved another chance.
“It is not easy to get into Formula One nowadays. Now I know that I might have said too much at the beginning of the season. Before my time in Formula One everything went more than well in A1, GP2 and the F3 series,” he added.
Nico believes that his teammate Rubens Barrichello was the best teammate for any rookie who might enter the sport and believes that Pastor is quite lucky as he would be racing alongside the Brazilian driver.
“[In] 2009 I had the mega season in GP2 - I had my team-mates under control, won a lot of races and at the end, the Championship. Then I came to F1. Of course, I was highly motivated and on fire. During the winter the team was
quite sure that podiums in 2010 would not be enough,” he said.
After a difficult but enjoyable season, Nico finished in 14th place after scoring 22 points in the drivers’ standings. However, the German driver is hoping to sign with another team and hopefully stay in the sport.
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