F1 News
Nico Hulkenberg: “I don’t feel 100 percent happy with what I produced this year"
Nico Hulkenberg has found himself without a seat in Formula 1 next season. The former Renault driver has struggled to perform over the past few seasons and has admitted that 2019 has been challenging.
“Personally, it’s been a challenging year, it’s been up and down,” Hulkenberg said to Formula1.com. “It was hard to get a good momentum going this season. We had signs of really good results, but then the next one was down again. There were also quite a lot of technical hiccups which were quite costly, so it’s difficult to groove yourself in, to find the right balance, and to always hit the sweetspot.
“I don’t feel 100 percent happy with everything I have produced this year. Certainly, I’ve done a couple of mistakes on my side and not always found the performance that I wanted. But that’s why F1 is so tricky and challenging.”
Hulkenberg is without a racing seat for 2020 but doesn't like to hear the words that he's retired.
“It doesn’t feel like retirement for me,” he said. “Yes, I won’t be on the grid next year, but it doesn’t feel like the end.”
Hulkenberg will have a year out of the sport and will hope that the young talent coming through don't impress so that a seat opens up for him in 2021.