Opinion: Red Bull must sign Nico Hulkenberg, they'd be silly not to
Column
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team are a stubborn bunch. They've got the best driver development system which has a proven track record, but now is the time to buck the trend and look outside of their own four walls. In this case, they'd be silly not to.
Nico Hulkenberg has been ousted from his position at Renault in favour of Esteban Ocon after Mercedes promised to give the Frenchman a seat but couldn't offer one in their own team because of Valtteri Bottas' uprise in form. It seems like the Hulk is going to be pushed out of Formula 1.
The 32-year-old is edging closer to the end of his career, but Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen are proving there's plenty of performance left available through the 30s.
Why should they pick Nico Hulkenberg?
Helmut Marko is desperate to make Max Verstappen the youngest F1 world champion. And to do that, Red Bull Racing need a second driver that can consistently take points off the likes of Hamilton, Vettel, Charles Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas. Hulkenberg can do this.
In 2018 when Renault were closing the gap on the big three teams, Hulkenberg beat his teammate and finished in the best of the rest position despite back-to-back retirements in the final two races of the season. Come back to this year and the German finds himself just nine points behind Daniel Ricciardo in an equal car.
The Hulk has recorded two fastest laps and one pole position. Hulkenberg has the ability, at least more than Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly, to do what would be required. He's also one of the few drivers available who would be happy to sit alongside Verstappen providing enough support but not stealing the limelight.
Albon and Gasly are good, but Red Bull Racing can't afford to put too much pressure on them both which could end up hampering their careers later on.