It was a reminder once again of the talent that carried Hülkenberg to pole by
more than a second at a rainy Interlagos in 2010, or won GP2 with a race to
spare, thrashing his ART team -mate Pastor Maldonado – the man who replaced
him at Williams for 2011 – by 64 points in the process.
Hülkenberg’s star is in the ascendancy yet it was only a week or so ago that
the man from Emmerich on the Rhine was being thrown on the metaphorical
driver scrap-heap; his body deemed too big for next year’s new regulations.
At 1.85m (6ft 1in) and 78kg (12st 4lb) “with my kit on”, Hülkenberg is one of
the largest drivers on the grid. This is never an advantage in Formula One,
and certainly not ahead of a move to heavy new ‘power units’ comprising
turbocharged 1.6l engines allied to Energy Recovery Systems and associated
cooling.
Hülkenberg is not losing sleep over it. “There is no weight issue,” he says
firmly as we sit down to a coffee in the Sauber paddock home in Japan. But
what about the reports that McLaren ruled him out of a move to Woking in
place of Sergio Pérez on weight grounds?
The consensus is that the extra weight of the engine package will more than
account for the extra 43kg (95lb) allowed by the regulations, meaning
smaller drivers will be at a greater advantage than ever as teams seek to
come in under the minimum weight limit.
Any teams who manage to do so will be able to bring the car up to the limit
with ballast, which can be placed advantageously in the car so as to give
maximum performance. This can be varied from track to track, giving extra
flexibility to the car’s set up.
“No one has ever said to me. I don’t know,” Hülkenberg says. “I haven’t talked
to them [McLaren] about it. I mean, I can understand it. It is logical with
the rule changes. Weight is crucial and it is very beneficial if you have
spare weight in Formula
One that is powerful performance.
“But for me it is not worth discussing because it’s just not changeable for
me. I am 1.85cm. I can’t lose any more weight. I would very much like to be
10cm shorter and 10kgs lighter. It would make my life a lot easier but it is
what it is. What can I do?”
What indeed? Unfortunately for Hülkenberg, his career in Formula One coincides
with a period in which smaller, lighter drivers are favoured almost as much
as those with pots of petrodollars behind them.
Hülkenberg has never been able to scrape much of a financial package together,
relying instead on pure talent. “That has never been for me,” he says when
asked if he might be able to get his hands on some financial backing. “I
don’t have a sponsor or come from an exotic country where I can bring tonnes
of money. So from that point of view no. It might make things easier, of
course.”
That is an understatement. If Hülkenberg came armed with the type of money
Maldonado brings from state-owned Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, top-four
teams would surely be beating a path to his door, even allowing for the
extra kilos. As it is, he could find he loses out to Maldonado again, just
as he did at Williams in 2011, when Lotus make their decision. Even
Ferrari’s outgoing Felipe Massa can bring a bit of sponsorship money.
Clearly a lot will depend on whether Lotus have got their finances in order
for 2014 without the need for extra driver sponsorship money.
A return to Force India, the team he left last year, would probably be his
second option, with Hülkenberg not ruling out staying at Sauber either.
“I’ve never ruled Sauber out. We are talking to different teams including
Sauber,” he says.
The BBC’s Eddie Jordan, who has called a number of driver moves right over the
last 18 months, said on Sunday that Hülkenberg was “certain” to re-sign for
Force India, while Sky News reported that the 26 year-old had already signed
with Lotus. “I’m sure it will happen in the next couple of weeks, I’m
confident we will get something sorted,” was all Hülkenberg would say.
For now, he will continue to do his talking on the track. That is the currency
in which he trades, not weight or sponsorship backing. It would be a
desperate shame, and a sad indictment of the state of Formula One, if the
Hulk were not to find himself with a top drive next year.