If he still has a long season ahead Of him to complete with Haas, it was in the shoes of a future Audi driver that Nico Hülkenberg arrived in the Miami paddock on Thursday. A few days after his signing for the brand with the rings, which will see him join the Stake F1 team from 2025 for a year of transition with Sauber, the 36-year-old driver returned to an easy decision to make, even if he was leading at the same time discussions to extend the adventure at Haas.
“To be frank, it’s happiness”he emphasizes. “I’m happy and, you know, I think it’s the reward for the good work that my team and I have done. It’s a credit to the last year and a half since I came back.”
“Of course I made mistakes, but on average the performance was there. That’s always the best argument, the most convincing. So I’m just happy that things are like this. I also know how much I invested and how much I worked for it. It’s a good state of mind compared to what I experienced at the end of 2019. I take it, I undoubtedly live it by being more aware of it, by being more aware of it. enjoying it more, because there are good days and bad days.”
Seidl “frank and direct” with Hülkenberg
Andreas Seidl.
Photo from: Sauber
Nico Hülkenberg was attracted by many aspects, starting with the prospect of becoming a factory driver again, but also by the means implemented by Audi. Above all, the fact that the project was led by Andreas Seidl, whom he had as boss at Porsche at the 24 Hours of Le Mans when he won there in 2015, played a crucial role.
“It’s a determining factor”he admits. “He is one of the decision-makers, one of the key people in the management of Audi. So it is obviously him who made the decision. He is someone who is very frank and direct with me.”
“I remember in 2020, when there was Covid before the season started and I wasn’t sure what to do, I phoned him. He was at McLaren and I asked him how it was showed up at their house, if there was a chance for me. He was frank in telling me not to have any illusions, that it wouldn’t happen. Two years later, it was very different. He really wanted to sign me.”
Asked about the ambitions he has in joining such a project, Nico Hülkenberg does not minimize them, while being aware of what, in his profile, encouraged the German manufacturer to call on him.
“Like all the teams here, they have a plan”he specifies. “They obviously have big ambitions. It’s a huge project, with huge ambitions. When you race for a manufacturer, there are always a lot of expectations, naturally. But they are redoubled their efforts, like all the teams cutting edge do it.”
“I think they appreciate my experience, probably also my judgment and my feeling in the car for the setup, pushing the team to do development. It’s also a very, very big opportunity for me, with also expectations and a lot of work to be done.”
