F1 News
Blonde Hulkenberg knew nothing about Barbie film: 'Bad timing, I guess!'
Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg managed to attract attention with a brand-new haircut during media day on Thursday. The German managed to find the dye can and is walking around the paddock this weekend with a blonde, almost white, hairdo. The F1 driver was unaware that the new Barbie movie premiered this week.
The Haas driver still tried to save face: "That Barbie movie came out, and I thought a bit of extra PR for me is pretty handy this time of the season," Hulkenberg laughed. "I wasn't aware of it, and I didn't really play with Barbie and Ken when I was a child. So just ran into this one and bad timing, I guess." The German was not the only one to get laughs. Former teammate Daniel Ricciardo is a Formula 1 driver again, and Hulkenberg is happy to see the good-humoured Australian back.
Ricciardo is back
"A lot more smiles and a lot more teeth you can see there. It's going to be interesting to see. I think there's actually quite a strong race car. It will be interesting to see what Danny can do with it. Obviously, he's had a good like eight, nine months out, a bit of a reset. To be out of the hot seat for a while, I think, is quite nice. I speak from experience, so he's probably quite fresh and reset and ready to go."
Contract extension for Hulkenberg?
Hulkenberg himself appears to be close to a longer stay in Formula 1. The one-time polesitter is doing extremely well with his Haas and seems close to a contract extension. Team owner Gene Haas is also in Hungary, so it seems the perfect time to talk about a new contract: "I'll sit down with him regardless. Maybe there's no deal to be done, maybe the deal is in place, who knows. I'm pretty happy and relaxed. I think it works both ways at the moment, and I'm enjoying myself. I think the team is also in a good place. So, there's no reason not to think why that relationship shouldn't continue like this."