Nico Hulkenberg Insists that His Future Lies in Formula One

Over the past few days, there have been numerous questions surrounding Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg. To be more specific, his future hangs in the balance, as Esteban Ocon looks primed to take his seat. Some rumours have linked him to a potential Formula E drive, but the German insists that his aim is Formula 1 beyond 2019.

As of now, Nico Hulkenberg is out of contract at the end of 2019 and has been linked to a move to the FIA Formula E championship. However,  Hulkenberg is committed to racing in Formula 1. Other rumours say that he may be off to Haas F1, in place of Romain Grosjean.

So far, Nico Hulkenberg has been forced to tolerate a tough 2019 campaign with Renault. For a driver who was the best of the rest in 2018, he has only been able to muster four points finishes in the opening 12 Grand Prix. He achieved that with a couple of seventh place finishes in Australia and Canada, his best results so far.

As a result of his misfortune and an inconsistent Renault team, he is languishing in 14th in the Drivers’ Championship. Fortunately for him, he is only five points behind team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.

Speaking to GrandPrix247, Nico Hulkenberg spoke about the Formula E links. He said, “I’m not ready for Formula E yet. I like what I’m doing.”

“It will obviously depend on the opportunities available, but for now, I’m focusing exclusively on Formula 1.  There are always rumours, it’s like that in F1.”

“I’m still pretty confident about staying in Formula 1. There is not much that has changed.”

Renault was expected to be the fourth best team after the leading three teams this season. Unfortunately, things have not gone according to plan and they have fallen far off the pace. Instead, they are locked in an ultra-competitive midfield battle and they need answers to their lack of pace.

A year ago, it was a completely different story, with Renault bagging 82 points at the halfway stage. However, this year, they are sixth in the standings with only 39 points.

“It’s a tough one,” Hülkenberg admitted to Formula1.com “It’s obviously quite below our expectations and the targets.

“I think we need to ask ourselves some serious questions and review a couple of things internally. There’s been far more lows than highs unfortunately and not really satisfying.

“[We need to look to] just how we go about things and where we’ve come the last 18 months with the car, what we’ve been doing.  And the effect it has, which is not that much of an effect, so we need to ask ourselves in the future so updates will bring some yield and bring us forward.”