Love to see the Hulk sign for a factory drive. Long overdue.

Now, the space opens for Ollie Bearman at the Ferrari-powered Haas team.

 

Maybe it's just me, but Hulkenberg has been in F1 for something like 47 years and been completely out of F1 on two different occasions and managed to come back, but has never once stood on a podium during that time. How does he get a new 3 year deal?

 

I'm with you.
He's like a cat with 9 lives.
His agent must be a magician.

 

Because he doesn’t crash the car and scores points whenever there’s an opportunity to do so. Hulkenberg has just never gotten a break at a front running team. Sometimes talented drivers never catch a break.

 

While I agree that crashing a car in today's salary cap era does pose a problem, is someone who just scores points when available, but no chance at podiums, a team's desires?

I joke, but Nico has gone through newly every team and former team on the grid:

2010 - Williams
2011-2012 - Force India
2013 - Sauber
2014-2016 - Return to Force India
2017-2019 - Renault Factory Team
2020 - Racing Point (formerly known as Force India)
2021 - Aston Martin (Formerly known as Racing Point, formerly known as Force India)
2023-2024 - HAAS
2025 - Return to Sauber/Audi

208 F1 races with no podiums and 3 years in a factory team. He did almost get his first podium in the factory Renault car, but ironically crashed it.

 

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lawren...n-martin-stake

 

Yup, best result is a 4th place finish in 13 seasons. 40 retirements out of 208 starts (19.2%).
11 first lap retirements.

And make no mistake, the narrative that he does not crash cars isn't totally true.
He's crashed plenty of cars . . .

From contract to crash: Nico Hulkenberg damages updated Haas front wing (planetf1.com)

Hulkenberg collision brings out second red flag in CHAOTIC Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice - GPFans.com

Abu Dhabi GP: Nico Hulkenberg crashes out and flips car first lap | F1 News | Sky Sports

F1 News: Nico Hulkenberg Out Of Miami GP FP1 After Crash Puts Red Flag On Session - F1 Briefings: Formula 1 News, Rumors, Standings and More

Nico Hülkenberg: Belgian Grand Prix crash ‘clearly my mistake’ | CNN

German GP crash 'hard to swallow' says Nico Hulkenberg | Formula 1®

 

Bingo.

 

It will be very interesting to see where, or if, Adrian ends up in another F1 team. As mentioned elsewhere, he surely doesn't need the $$. He loves to play with his various race cars and would sure have more time to do that...

Will be interesting to see who shows up on the Red Bull pit wall, and in the garage in a week.

 

The value add from Newey’s perspective is the technical challenge and if he has a comfortable working environment. It’s not the money. He’s got plenty. Give him a drawing room (with a real drawing table) and a couple engineers to translate his drawings into machining files and he’s happy. He also likes a staff smart enough to question him, like a doctoral review. He may walk away too, but he’s too much of a racer to do that.

Stroll wants to enhance the value of AM by throwing money at it, Newey knows that.

Ah, but the siren call of the Reds… Now, THAT is something beyond!

 

OT: I really miss the screeching NA engines of the past.

At my first F1 race in Montreal at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve I literally had tears streaming down my face the very first time
that I had heard an F1 car rocketing down the long straight as I was walking onto the Isle of Notre Dame over a footbridge.
The sheer primal force of those engines would send goose-bumps all over my body. June in Montreal is always a great time!

Sadly, those days are gone.

 

It makes sense for Newey to go to Ferrari because it makes sense as a business plan.

Ferrari acquires Hamilton.
Ferrari acquires Newey.
Newey builds a car which lets Hamilton obtain his 8th WDC, beating Schumacher.
Hamilton and Newey retire from F1 and are paid tons by the Ferrari marketing machine.
Ferrari sells more cars and merch.
Good ROI for Ferrari.

 

He must have the same agent as Kirk Cousins ;-)

 

Folks forget that the motivating factor for LH, one of the world's highest grossing athletes, is not money but attention and marketing of causes he believes in. I think Newey is the same.

Ferrari has a marketing machine. I bought RACE at $80. They're no dummies...

 

Yeah - I think this may have all been a master plan from the start.

If this scenario is true, we are going to have to stop making fun of Hamilton, even when he wears a dress!