F1 News
Hulkenberg believes his time in Formula 1 "could have been more successful"
Nico Hulkenberg insists he could have been more successful in Formula 1 had he taken a different path at different teams. The 32-year-old is likely to leave the sport after the current season after being pushed out of Renault by Esteban Ocon.
In an interview with France's AutoHebdo, Hulkenberg looks back on his Formula 1 career and draws his attention towards the mistakes he made when he was the new kid on the block.
“Of course I am sorry about certain things, certain decisions and certain situations. However, that is part of life; That you learn from that. The moment you start in Formula 1, you are a young guy and you will logically make mistakes. In the end, I rode for ten years and so I experienced ten cool, intense seasons. Of course, they could have been more successful, but also a lot worse," Hulkenberg said.
Hulkenberg started F1 at Williams before moving to Force India in 2011. He then spent two years at Sauber before moving back to Force India 2015. The German then made his debut for Renault in 2017 and recorded his highest F1 world championship finish in 2018 (7th).
Hulkenberg looks back at his moves through the paddock and believes he made the wrong choice to leave Force India.
“That always remains difficult: You make a choice and only later know whether that is the right one. In the case of leaving Force India at the end of 2012, I don't think it was the best decision. But anyway: Sauber had a competitive car in 2012, our start in 2013 was just a bit more difficult. As the season progressed, the performance also improved. Just not what I expected when I changed teams," Hulkenberg added.