Following Sunday’s F1 Azerbaijan GP, Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg talked about his Lap 1 contact with Ocon, being stuck behind Stroll, and how his race was already doomed before it started.
Hülkenberg’s weekend unraveled on Saturday in Qualifying for the F1 Azerbaijan GP, where he failed to make it out of Q1 after a brush with the walls.
The Sauber Driver didn’t have an ideal launch from his P17 starting position, losing positions and making contact with the Haas of Esteban Ocon.
Hülkenberg on contact with Ocon
Both cars were able to continue, with Hülkenberg believing the incident didn’t cause an issue for either of the drivers involved.
“No, not at all, that was just you know, lap one racing.”
“I think neither of us had a problem after that, just didn’t get off to the best first lap, lost, I think, two or three positions, got two back actually at the restart.
Qualifying hampered chances in the GP.
The 38-year-old was able to launch a successful double overtake on Gasly and Bearman at the restart, but his momentum came to a halt when he got stuck behind the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.
After the conclusion of the Azerbaijan GP, where he finished in 16th place, Hülkenberg felt that he lost race time behind Stroll, but that his race ultimately was lost in Qualifying and the early stages of the race.
“Nice movement to turn three, was a double whammy, that was quite nice, felt rewarding, and after had a long, long first in behind Lance [Stroll].”
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t get him, but we lost a lot of race time there, and that was make or break, and then obviously no safety car, nothing happening.
“So, eventually pitted and you know come out far behind, but I think pace at the end was good, but obviously the damage was done yesterday already and early in the race.”
Having concluded that his Qualifying performance hampered his chances in the Azerbaijan GP, Hülkenberg said he would take his learnings from Saturday’s mistake to improve in the upcoming rounds.
“Well, learn from the mistakes that I made yesterday [Saturday], you know, try to be better and cleaner next time around.”
Hülkenberg’s Azerbaijan GP highlight
In another post-race interview, Hülkenberg went into detail about the challenges he faced during the Azerbaijan GP, the clash with Ocon not among them.
“It wasn’t difficult. It was the car I came up with.
“Catching cars isn’t difficult. It’s easy. The easiest part of all, actually,” Hülkenberg noted in response to the suggestion that the clash with Ocon posed a difficulty in the remaining of his race.
“Well, that was just a sequence, you know, how it all happened. He had not a great lap one,” the German added.
While his contact with Ocon in the opening stages of the Azerbaijan GP was not an ideal start to the race, Hülkenberg names his double overtake at the restart as his personal highlight from the GP.
“I just seemed to be always in the wrong point, losing out.
“But then at the restart, I actually had a double overtake in turn three.
“That felt quite nice, so it was probably the highlight of my race.”
Following cars ahead posed a challenge.
Following his moves on Gasly and Bearmann at the restart, Hülkenberg encountered difficulties when he became stuck behind Colapinto and Stroll.
The Sauber driver found it challenging to follow, likening the feeling inside the car to driving without a rear wing.
“And then, a long stint behind Franco [Colapinto] and Lance, it was so difficult to follow.
“Actually, at the low speed, these cars just…
“It’s like someone has taken the rear wing off the car.
“So, yeah, it was tough. I couldn’t get Lance [Stroll], and obviously, we lost a lot of time there.
“As the pace of death, it wasn’t that great there.“
Hülkenberg summarized the Azerbaijan as not the “strongest weekend” for Sauber, noting that a lack of pace and his starting position prevented him from gaining positions.
“So, yeah, damage done yesterday, and just starting too far back. But, yeah, I think we, you know, not our strongest weekend.
“Similar to Zandvoort, we didn’t have, I think, enough pace and merit to do something.”
