Hulkenberg health scare caused him to miss crucial testing
F1 News
Nico Hulkenberg lead the way for Kick Sauber during the first test session on Wednesday morning. In the closing stages of the session, the German driver stayed inside, after which he also did not attend the press conference. While his absence has caused speculation online, Sauber team has since revealed to GPblog that his absence was caused by a medical problem.
When asked, the Sauber team informed GPblog that Hulkenberg had something stuck in his eye, and that the timing of the press conference meant he was unable to attend. It has been shared that the driver is okay.
Hulkenberg will not be in action for the afternoon session of the second day of testing, but his new teammate Gabriel Bortoleto will. Bortoleto won the Formula 3 championship in 2023, followed by the Formula 2 championship in 2024. The Brazilian is seen by many as a great talent, and expectation are high for his rookie season.
Hulkenberg's return
When Hulkenberg had to leave Haas at the end of 2019, his Formula 1 career seemed to be over. Although he was used as a supersub on a number of occasions in the period that followed, his chance of a full-time racing seat seemed to have been lost. However, he suddenly returned to the grid in 2023, as the replacement for Mick Schumacher, who had been sidelined by Haas. At the end of 2024, the German driver left the Haas team to join Sauber, which will be renamed Audi next year.
This article has been created in collaboration with Kim Hoefnagel.
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