Hulkenburg to leave Haas...

[entropy]

Dingu said:

sandman77 said:

Well none of the teams he has been in developed very good cars in his time with them.

We don’t know how much worse they would or wouldn’t have been without him. A driver can only do so much.

Beaten by Perez, Ricciardo, Sainz Jr...

[thegreenhell]

riskyj said:

Muzzer79 said:

Nationality helps, I reckon.

I assumed this was the primary motivation.

If Audi have the budget to get Sainz (and it must be a healthy budget if RBR “can’t match it”) then surely the have the money for a driver better than Nico if that’s what they wanted.

Which better drivers are available?
Which better drivers are available who don't have a better option than taking a punt with a back of the grid team and a manufacturer with zero F1 experience?
Most of the other available talent is waiting on the two available seats at RBR and Mercedes, and until those are spoken for Audi will have to get in line to hire whoever is left, no matter how much money they have to spend on drivers.

[super7]

riskyj said:

Muzzer79 said:

Nationality helps, I reckon.

I assumed this was the primary motivation.

If Audi have the budget to get Sainz (and it must be a healthy budget if RBR “can’t match it”) then surely the have the money for a driver better than Nico if that’s what they wanted.

The Hulk is well known to Seidl who has a lot of (obvious) support from him. He's basically Seidl's choice.

[Supersam83]

Wonder if the Sauber marketing department is looking at combining the bright green livery and Hulkenburg = The Incredible Hulk

[kambites]

This is surely the least surprising announcement in F1 ever?

[rallycross]

Supersam83 said:

= The Incredible Hulk

Great idea!

Well done Nico getting a deal with a manufacturer. Bottas needs letting go.

[WilsonWilson]

Are Audi deliberately trying to emulate the Toyota story? Hulkenburg and Sainz are pretty much Trulli, Schumacher capable enough to be expensive, not stars of their generation, not young enough to improve to the next level.

[tele_lover]

riskyj said:

Muzzer79 said:

Nationality helps, I reckon.

I assumed this was the primary motivation.

If Audi have the budget to get Sainz (and it must be a healthy budget if RBR “can’t match it”) then surely the have the money for a driver better than Nico if that’s what they wanted.

RBR can match it, but given they have Perez they just don't need to offer that much.

[Kart16]

Geezus Christ, this guy should have retired from F1 a long time ago! Otherwise there will be no vacancies for new talents in F1. . He, Magnussen, Bottas, etc., are all drivers who had a chance in F1 and didn't look super talented or have results that make them worthy of having a place in F1.

Meanwhile Theo Purchaire, the 2023 F2 champion did a good race at IndyCar and the 2022 F2 champion, Felipe Drugovich, is probably moving to IMSA/WEC. What a waste of talent.

To me Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Bottas, Stroll, Zhou, and Sargeant should all be kicked out of F1 due to lack of talent or/and results.

[Milkyway]

I've always liked 'The Hulk' & every race, willing him along for that elusive podium.
He's a driver who deserves to be in F1, unlike a few of the current drivers, but unfortunately hasn't / didn't quite achieve the success & will probably leave with that sad record which nobody will want to break.
(Maybe Audi are banking on the Alonso effect kicking in.)

Edited by Milkyway on Saturday 27th April 07:48

[tele_lover]

Kart16 said:

Geezus Christ, this guy should have retired from F1 a long time ago! Otherwise there will be no vacancies for new talents in F1. . He, Magnussen, Bottas, etc., are all drivers who had a chance in F1 and didn't look super talented or have results that make them worthy of having a place in F1.

Meanwhile Theo Purchaire, the 2023 F2 champion did a good race at IndyCar and the 2022 F2 champion, Felipe Drugovich, is probably moving to IMSA/WEC. What a waste of talent.

To me Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Bottas, Stroll, Zhou, and Sargeant should all be kicked out of F1 due to lack of talent or/and results.

I think Hulk is much better than Bottas. Bottas can qualify but he can't race/overtake to take his life.

[tele_lover]

Kart16 said:

Geezus Christ, this guy should have retired from F1 a long time ago! Otherwise there will be no vacancies for new talents in F1. . He, Magnussen, Bottas, etc., are all drivers who had a chance in F1 and didn't look super talented or have results that make them worthy of having a place in F1.

Meanwhile Theo Purchaire, the 2023 F2 champion did a good race at IndyCar and the 2022 F2 champion, Felipe Drugovich, is probably moving to IMSA/WEC. What a waste of talent.

To me Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Bottas, Stroll, Zhou, and Sargeant should all be kicked out of F1 due to lack of talent or/and results.

Drugovich wasn't that good. His competition were pretty bad. Callum Ilott had already left and Liam Lawson had a very odd season (he was winning the SA feature race and his pit crew didn't put the type on properly... out).

[Smollet]

tele_lover said:

Drugovich wasn't that good. His competition were pretty bad. Callum Ilott had already left and Liam Lawson had a very odd season (he was winning the SA feature race and his pit crew didn't put the type on properly... out).

Agreed. Drugovich just looked good due to the overall paucity of talent in his rivals.

[dobly]

Feel sorry for Zhou if this is the end of his F1 career. Bottas, Magnusson and Danny Ric have had their chances - time to make room for younger drivers such as Lawson, Bearman etc. I would have put Hulkenburg in the “had their day” category too…

Edited by dobly on Saturday 27th April 10:48

[Piginapoke]

A good fit for both Hulk and Audi.

[MiniMan64]

Are older journeymen drivers sticking around longer than they used to? Feels like drivers like Bottas and Hulk have been around a lot longer than I would have expected.

[Kart16]

tele_lover said:

I think Hulk is much better than Bottas. Bottas can qualify but he can't race/overtake to take his life.

I agree with you. But Hulkenberg had so many years to prove himself. He is a good driver, won Le Mans on the first try, but he is done. I bet he will be an elite driver in endurance, DTM, etc., but it’s time to move on an open up seats for the new generation.

[Kart16]

tele_lover said:

Drugovich wasn't that good. His competition were pretty bad. Callum Ilott had already left and Liam Lawson had a very odd season (he was winning the SA feature race and his pit crew didn't put the type on properly... out).

Drugovich wasn’t that good? Please, check his points difference to the second best driver. All that driving a MP that is at best a “Toro Rosso”. And by the way, he very clearly beat Lawson, who was driving for a much better team.

Anyway, both Drugovich and Lawson deserve much more a shot in F1 than Hulkenberg staying.

[Kart16]

Smollet said:

Agreed. Drugovich just looked good due to the overall paucity of talent in his rivals.

Drugovich beat Pourchaire, Lawson, and Sargeant, all of which were in better teams.

This is Eddie Jordan opinion on him:

https://youtube.com/shorts/hmn2GAoiXcA?si=JrNqFoKe...

[Forester1965]

patmahe said:

I think this is a good move for Audi, Hulkenberg is known for being a good development driver

Outside of the sim, that means 1.5 days of driving the car before the start of the season these days. Not sure how much influence he's (or any other driver's) going to have developing the car.

He's relatively quick, but the fact he never made it into a top drive tells you what you need to know.