Hulkenberg at Red Bull or Mercedes? 'Doesn't look out of place'
- Ludo van Denderen
It was Nico Hulkenberg's bicentenary Grand Prix in Mexico. Sadly he, again, scored no points, but it was by no means a bad race from the German veteran. According to Timo Glock - once active in Formula 1 himself and now a commentator at German Sky Sports - his compatriot even showed he would not be out of place at a top team like Red Bull Racing or Mercedes.
Hulkenberg is a record holder. No less than 203 times he was active in a Grand Prix weekend (200 starts), and not once did the German manage to get on the podium. No driver got so many chances in Formula 1 not to pick up a better one at least once. However, Hulkenberg is widely known as a solid points picker. As soon as his equipment allows, the 36-year-old is capable of picking up points and (usually) staying away from silly crashes or accidents.
Glock sees Hulkenberg driving at the top
Consistency is precisely a quality a top team looks for in a second driver, assisting, say, Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton as a second. Perhaps even grabbing that occasional win. According to Timo Glock, Hulkenberg would not be at all out of place at Red Bull Racing or Mercedes. Whether that opportunity will ever come? It seems not, and so the German has to make do with uncompetitive Haas F1 for now.
"Looking ahead to next year, it is up to Haas whether they will provide Hulkenberg with a better car than this year - especially in the race. We don't need to discuss his performance in qualifying. Those are excellent. Such performances obviously always put him in the picture with top teams. If Hülkenberg were to drive in a top team, he is also someone who can fight for the podium and for victories," Glock believes.