Cant wait to see what this boy can do in F1!
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| Hülk(enberg) knows best – the other Nico |
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| Written by Kate Walker | |||
| Wednesday, 25 November 2009 15:10 | |||
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More importantly, why has it taken him so long to get there? The young German is managed by Willi Weber, manager of one Michael Schumacher. Weber has long been teasing the media with news of Hülkenberg’s imminent move to Formula 1 – he first went on record in 2007 to say that Nico would be on the grid in 2008. The grid didn’t happen, but an entry to the F1 circus did. Williams Grand Prix Engineering first signed Hülkenberg as a test driver in 2008 following his impressive A1GP debut, which saw the former German Junior Karting Champion (2002) and German Karting Champion (2003) take home a win in his first weekend. Despite some promise, his early testing performances were somewhat disappointing, leading Patrick Head to bemoan the driver’s tendency to fling the car into the gravel at the slightest opportunity. Head has changed his tune of late, however. “The drivers who have won GP2 in their first year – Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton – are all pretty outstanding,” he told Motorsport.com, “and I think Nico [Hülkenberg]will be outstanding as well.” While he may not have had an F1 seat for 2009, Hülkenberg didn’t spend the year waiting in the wings. Driving in the GP2 Series for ART Grand Prix, the young German won the series, and did so in style. Hülkenberg is one of three GP2 champions to have broken the 100-point barrier. The other two were Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. He is the first in the history of the series to have taken the title before the final race of the season, and the second to win the series in his rookie season. The first? Lewis Hamilton. There have been reports that Hülkenberg is of particular interest to F1 team bosses as he is the only young driver whose career trajectory maps that of Lewis. While it is certainly possible that Hülkenberg could be contesting the championship in his debut season, we shall have to wait for winter testing reports of the car to emerge before we can start throwing around epithets along the lines of ‘the German Lewis’, or ‘the next Hamilton’. Not that Weber is at all shy of heaping expectation on the shoulders of his young driver. “I can say that the boy has an unbelievable talent. So much about him already reminds me of Michael Schumacher,” Weber said. “If everything goes to plan Nico should be ready for Formula 1 in 2008.” While that didn’t happen, the delay may turn out to have been in the Hülk’s favour. The 2009 season in particular was a difficult year for the grid’s debutantes – just ask Bourdais, Buemi, Grosjean, and Alguesuari. The only newbie to really shine last season was Kamui Kobayashi, who might drive for Renault in 2010. If there is a Renault in 2010. But I digress… There are a few changes underway at Williams that could have a knock-on effect on Hülkenberg’s on-track performances. The 2010 season sees the team returning to Cosworth engines now that the Toyota dalliance has come to an end. Williams have used Cosworth’s V8 engines in the past, so it’s not a completely new arena for the team, but the 2006 Cosworth was a gas-guzzler. If the 2010 Cosworth has issues with fuel consumption, Williams – along with USF1, Campos Meta, Lotus, and Manor/Virgin – could be in for a rough ride. Engines aside, last week’s announcement that shares in Williams Grand Prix Engineering had been sold to Austrian former racing driver Toto Wolff could have unforeseen consequences. Little is currently known about the deal, but conspiracy theories are flying around the interweb as usual. Wolff has said that his involvement is purely commercial, but then Bernie Ecclestone’s involvement in Formula 1 is commercial (and rights), and no one could accuse Bernie of being a hands-off, back seat kinda guy. Much also depends on the FW32, and how it performs in testing. Williams’ Chief Engineer Rod Nelson has been working on the car for some time now. "The design, development and manufacture process of the new car is well under way now so the entire factory is flat out," Nelson is quoted as saying by RacecarEngineering. "We have the three day young driver test that the FIA allows us in December during which we will be testing Andy Soucek following his victory of the inaugural F2 Championship, together with our new race driver, Nico Hülkenberg. The FW32 will be ready to run at the start of the February testing period." Whether or not that work will lead to results on the track remains to be seen. It is an unavoidable fact that while Williams is a much-loved team, they have not delivered a race win in five years. There have been seven podium finishes in that time. Compare that with the Williams that won 50% of all World Constructors’ Championships between 1980 and 1997, and finished second or third four times in that period. The team has had no shortage of decent drivers since 1997. WDC Jacques Villeneuve, future WDC Jenson Button, Juan Pablo Montoya, Mark Webber, and Nico Rosberg have all driven for the team. If the drivers haven’t been able to deliver for the best part of a decade, it looks to me like the car’s at fault. Now that Williams have lined up old hand Rubens Barrichello and bright young thing Hülkenberg, one only hopes that their car can deliver the goods. Rubens doesn’t want to regret not leaving F1 on a WCC and #2 WDC high at the end of 2009, and too many of us want to see him take home some trophies to commemorate his contribution to the sport. Most importantly, however, Williams can’t afford to let the new boy down. The last Williams driver to be called the new Schumacher took ten years to find a car that matched his skill. The Hülk deserves better. by Kate Walker for Girlracer Magazine www.girlracer.co.uk
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| Last Updated on Wednesday, 25 November 2009 15:17 |
