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Hulkenberg signed for a top team but: 'If the other side doesn't sign...'
Nico Hülkenberg is one of the most experienced and respected drivers in Formula 1, but despite his impressive track record, a factory contract with a top team has always eluded him. A pity, argues Hulkenberg, but, not much more than that, since the German is proud of what he has achieved in motorsport.
Hülkenberg answers with his usual "heart on your sleeve" candor when asked why he never managed to drive for a top team like Ferrari or Red Bull. "Because in the end it was always little things and the last piece of the puzzle that was somehow missing," he explains to Motorsport-Total.com. After taking a pause as if to gather his thoughts, the soon to be a Sauber driver suggested that he had indeed ended up signing for a top team, although the team's side's signature was always missing at the end of the day. "That's how simple and clear it is in the end. The thing is not finished until it is really finished and signed. And I think sometimes I was very close. But it doesn't count if it's not signed by the other side,"
Many stories have come out along the years linking Hülkenberg to a seat in a top team, like Ferrari being an option, even if it was for a very short window in 2014, before the team finally went for Kimi Räikkönen. According to insiders, following Red Bull's decision to get Alex Albon out of the car after a dissapointing 2020 season, the German was a contender for the seat ahead of 2021, but the Austrian team ultimately decided to go for Sergio Perez as the Thai driver's replacement.
No regrets, no melancholy
"In the end, it doesn't matter how close it was or not," Hülkenberg said yet again. "If the contract is not signed, it doesn't count. There was always something missing." When asked if he looks back on those moments while pondering what could have happened, the German answers firmly: "No, not at all. I'm not a wistful type."
This article was written in collaboration with Corwin Kunst
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