Hulkenberg: We’re aiming for things to click

Nico made his Formula 1 debut in 2010 and, except for a single-year absence in 2011, has raced in every Formula 1 championship to date. As well as boasting five championship titles throughout his career, including GP2 in 2009 at the first attempt, Nico also has a Le Mans 24 Hours win to his name after taking victory in the prestigious event in 2015.

On the occasion of the launch of the Renault RS19, which Hulkenberg and new teammate Daniel Ricciardo in the forthcoming championship campaign, the team released a Q&A with the 31-year-old German.

Q: How have you spent the winter preparing for your ninth season in Formula 1?
NC: I’ve been working as hard as ever throughout the winter to be best prepared for the season. I’ve been doing the usual kind of things, taking a holiday over Christmas and New Year, and after that it was back to the physical preparation and intense training to get the body and mind back in tune.

Q: What are you expecting from your third season with Renault F1 Team?
NC: As a team, we’ve developed a lot since the start of 2017 and that’s all part of the process if we want to achieve our long-term targets. When I arrived, the infrastructure was still young, we’ve come a long way since then with a lot of progress from that point.

Q: Are you impressed by what you’ve seen of the Renault R.S.19?
NC: I’ve seen parts of the chassis at Enstone and there’s been a lot of hard work from the staff across both sides of the Channel to put together a good package. I know what we’re doing and what’s been changed, so I can’t wait to see it and try it out. A driver always wants more power, more grip and a better balance from the car.

Q: How well do you know your new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo?
NC: Daniel is a good guy and I’ve known him for many years from racing in Formula 1. He also lives in Monaco so I see him from time to time there. We both enjoy playing tennis and we’ve met up for a game on a couple of occasions. We get on well and we’ve always had a good relationship. We’re a strong line-up, driving for a strong team so we’re aiming for things to click, go smoothly and target a good season.

Date of Birth: 19 August 1987 in Emmerich am Rhein, Germany

2018
Nico recorded his best finish in the Drivers’ Championship with seventh place in 2018, amassing 69 points. A fifth place at his home Grand Prix in Hockenheim was his best result of the campaign with a further ten points finishes underlining a strong season.

2017
Nico was announced as a Renault Sport Formula One Team driver for 2017 in October 2016 and made his race debut for the team at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

2014-2016
Nico returned to Force India for a three-year spell, and after the first three races of the 2014 season he sat in third position in the Drivers’ Championship, behind the Mercedes juggernaut of Hamilton and Rosberg. He finished fifth four times that year, ending the season ninth in the standings. 2015 saw Nico finish tenth in the Drivers’ Championship. Outside of F1, Nico made his World Endurance Championship debut, driving for Porsche. Pairing Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber, Nico finished sixth in the Spa 6 Hours then the trio took victory at Le Mans in what was Nico’s debut at the iconic race. In Nico’s final season at Force India, he finished ninth in the F1 Drivers’ Championship.

2013
For 2013 Nico joined Sauber, impressing with third on the grid at the Italian Grand Prix for the Ferrari-powered C32, taking fifth in the same race. His best finish of the season was fourth in the Korean Grand Prix and he ranked tenth in the standings that year.

2011-2012
With Williams opting for Pastor Maldonado at the squad, Nico moved to Force India in a reserve position for 2011, driving in Friday practice sessions. He was promoted to a race seat the following year, qualifying for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix six places ahead of team-mate Paul di Resta. In that year’s Belgian Grand Prix, he finished a career-best fourth. Nico looked set for glory in the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, however a safety car period robbed him of a 45-second lead in the race so he was eventually to finish in fifth. He closed the 2012 season in eleventh.

2010
2010 saw Nico’s Formula 1 debut with Williams, racing alongside the highly experienced Rubens Barrichello. In his third race, the Malaysian Grand Prix, he out-qualified Rubens and he scored his first Formula 1 point in the same race. After finishing a season-best of sixth in the Hungarian Grand Prix, Nico secured pole position on a difficult damp Interlagos track, with two of his qualifying laps on slick tyres fast enough for his P1 position. His fastest qualifying lap was over a second ahead of next quickest, Sebastian Vettel. Nico ended the year 14th in the standings.

Pre-Formula 1
After a successful karting career, Nico’s car racing started in German Formula BMW where he dominated the 2005 season, following in the footsteps of countryman Sebastian Vettel as champion. 2006 saw a graduation to German Formula Three and a race win, but it was the second season of the A1GP series, which started late in 2006 – contested in identical Lola chassis with more than 500 horsepower from their Zytek V8 engines – when people really took notice of the rising star. Driving for A1 Team Germany, Nico claimed nine wins from the season’s 22 races, including six in a row. His emphatic performance secured Germany the crown and cemented Nico’s position as the most successful driver in A1GP history.

Two seasons in the F3 Euro Series from 2007 onwards followed, with third in the standings and four wins in his first outing, and the championship title and seven wins in the second. In 2009, Nico became one of only three drivers to win the GP2 Series in their first season, following in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. He secured his crown with five wins and five other podium finishes.