Belgian Grand Prix – Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg says he thinks nationality may have played a part in him losing his seat to Esteban Ocon.
Nico Hulkenberg is entering his final nine races with Renault this weekend, having been announced as being replaced by Mercedes’ current reserve driver Esteban Ocon. As a result, Hulkenberg doesn’t have a confirmed seat for 2020, and says he could tell the writing was on the wall a few weeks ago: “There were hints throughout the summer break. I felt there was a change of dynamic in the week after Hungary, so I could tell there was something going on and that there might be changes ahead. But I didn’t find out for definite until this week.”
“I’ve been here three years. ’17 we saw good progress, ’18 was good, but a tough year this year. It’s a pity we can’t continue as I think we will make a step forward but that’s that. The situation is what it is.”
Asked about his options for next season, Hulkenberg explained that he was obviously negotiating with various teams and said: “There’s plenty of time left in the season, it’s not too late or anything. There’s plenty of seats and options there.”
“It will all depend on several factors – the overall deal, the outlook of the team, you figure out these options and put them on the table before deciding what you want to do. It’ll be a couple of weeks before I know.”
As for why he thinks Renault looked elsewhere for 2020, Hulkenberg said he thought the opportunity of a French driver in a French car may have been too difficult to resist for the team: “I think there’s many factors after playing a part. I had an impression nationality played a part in that and was one piece of the puzzle.”
Addressing his own weaknesses, Hulkenberg explained: “Qualifying in particular this year is something I’m not happy with this year, race pace has been very good but we lost points through race issues which also made a difference on the contract side of things.”
Appearing to be quite chipper and good humoured as he spoke with the press at Spa on Thursday, Hulkenberg said that the disappointment had already passed as he looks to the future: “I feel OK. When I got the news, I was disappointed but I’ve had time to digest it. I accept the decision, although whether I agree with it is a different matter.”
