Despite a sensational pole position at the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix just last month, his team’s first in 5 years, promising young German driver Nico Hulkenberg was told by Williams they would no longer be retaining his services for 2011. The reason? The team needs money, and in comes Venezuelan rookie Pastor Maldonado and his $15 million budget from backers, some allegedly even coming from the government of President Hugo Chaves.
A driver bringing in money so a team could sign him is nothing new. They are usually called pay drivers. Formula One is a very expensive sport, and money has to come from somewhere else. Some Grand Prix greats even started that way, like 3-time World Champion Niki Lauda, who practically bought his March seat in 1972. 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher’s debut in a Jordan would not have happened at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix were it not for Mercedes bankrolling $100,000 for the drive, as part of their long-term plan to someday participate in Formula One. Even 2-time WDC Fernando Alonso’s seat at Ferrari was allegedly dictated by Spanish banking giant Santander. There is actually nothing wrong in having financial support from backers, as it happens in just about every sport, but at the end of the day the driver has to earn his place in what is supposed to be the pinnacle of motor sport.
Mind you, Maldonado is no pedestrian. He was, after all, the 2010 GP2 champion, by a good margin, and after clinching the title this year he is no longer eligible to compete in the premier feeder series to Formula One. But this was also the same driver, who, just a year ago, got spanked big-time by Hulkenberg himself when they were teammates at the ART team in that series. Nico dominated GP2 in 2009 as a rookie, while Pastor was nowhere in sight, despite already being in his third year in the sport and being more than 2 years older than the German. Maldonado’s championship season this year was partly due to being much more experienced than his rivals, as he was already in his 4th year in the series, while others are either rookies or sophomores. There was also an influx of GP2 graduates to other forms of motor sport this year, so competition was further thinned out. Hulkenberg, Vitaly Petrov, Kamui Kobayashi, Romain Grosjean, Karun Chandok, plus Lucas di Grassi and Bruno Senna from 2008, have all graduated to Formula One. It was like being a man against boys. His toughest competition came from Mexican Sergio Perez, who at 21 was much younger and was only in his 2nd year in the series. Like Maldonado, Perez will also drive in Grand Prix racing next season, for Sauber, despite not having the best of credentials. $25 million from Mexican telecoms giant Telmex, from the World’s richest man Carlos Slim, ensured that the Latin American country will have is first F1 driver since Hector Rebaque bought the 2nd Brabham seat in 1981. Promising GP2 drivers this year like Jules Bianchi, Sam Bird, and Christian Vietoris were all too young and inexperienced compared to the 25-year old Venezuelan. It was like 2008 all over again, when F1 refugee Giorgio Pantano nipped Senna for the title, but the ex-Jordan driver did not get a call in Formula One simply because it was already the Italian’s 7th season in the series.
Maldonado’s supporters will surely argue that success in lower Formula does not guarantee Formula One greatness. They will be quick to point out the cases of Kobayashi and Grosjean, who both entered F1 late in 2009. Grosjean was Hulkenberg’s main competition for the 2009 GP2 title before his promotion to the Renault F1 seat, while Kobayashi won only 2 races in 2 years at GP2. But unlike Pastor, Kamui did not have the best of teams in GP2, so he did not have a really good chance to showcase his talents in that series. Furthermore, Grosjean was pitted against a dominant driver, 2-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, and with no in-season testing allowed, his chances of making a good impression was practically zero. Kobayashi, on the other hand, had to compete with an up-and-down Jarno Trulli for 2 races, and then journeyman Pedro dela Rosa, who has not driven in F1 regularly since the 2002 season, this year, so he had a much better chance to impress the team owners. Hulkenberg was actually offered the 2nd Ferrari seat vacated by Felipe Massa’s serious accident at last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix, but his manager Willi Weber wisely turned down the offer, as he would have no chance against a WDC (Raikkonen) with no testing allowed. This year, still with no in-season testing allowed, Nico started slowly against Rubens Barrichello, but he improved a lot throughout the year. He outscored his seasoned teammate during the 2nd half of the season, and there was little to choose between the two in most races.
Prior to winning GP2 in 2009 at his first attempt, “the Hulk” was also the F3 Euroseries champion in 2008 in his first full season. In 2007 he dominated A1GP for team Germany, setting many records in that series. That was where he was spotted by Willi Weber, who was looking for a new client as his long-time ward Michael Schumacher have just retired from Grand Prix racing after 7 titles & 91 race wins. With impeccable credentials like those and having Weber by his side, many were expecting a lot from the then 22-year old rookie at the start of the season. But Nico has had a roller-coaster first half, the only significant showing being a 10th place finish at Malaysia, finishing well-ahead of Barrichello. Most of the time he was involved in accidents not of his own making, and there were mechanical troubles as well. At times it looked like he was trying too hard, and his results suffered. But the turning point came in Valencia, and from then on there was little to choose between Nico and Rubens. At Monza, Hulkenberg heroically held Mark Webber’s much faster Red Bull for most of the race, incurring the ire of the Australian WDC title contender. At Interlagos, in his first visit there, he had perfect timing and planted the Williams-Cosworth on pole in changing conditions. He expectedly faded in the race as he was gobbled up by faster cars, but he held on to finish a decent 8th place. It looked like he had done enough to ensure his future in Formula One, but it was not to be. Less than a week later, before the start of the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Williams told Weber that his client would not drive for them in 2011. The British team allegedly offered to have Nico on loan to HRT (who will be using Williams gearboxes in 2011) for 2 years, but Mr Weber turned down the offer. It was similar to Jenson Button’s deal with Benetton/Renault in 2001 when Juan Pablo Montoya arrived, also at Williams. But Weber said no, so now, it appears Hulkenberg is left out in the cold.
After the provisional 2011 Formula One lineup was posted by the FIA yesterday, there appeared to be some hope for Hulkenberg. There were as many as 10 racing seats still left, most promising of which were at Force India, where there were 2 openings. The best opening in terms of car competitiveness is definitely at Renault, but it appears Petrov once again will have his millions ready and is about to sign in the next couple of days. The second Williams seat alongside Barrichello was also vacant as of the moment, but Maldonado appears to have the inside track at it. There are 2 openings still available at Scuderia Toro Rosso, but with that team being Red Bull’s junior team where its drivers are “trained”, Hulkenberg has no shot at it. Jaime Algersuari appears to be a certainty, while Sebastien Buemi seat was less secure. The Swiss was allegedly being considered to be dumped in favor of Australian Daniel Ricciardo, yet another driver from the Red Bull driving academy. 2 of the 3 new teams this year, Virgin Racing and HRT, also have 2 openings each. At Virgin, incumbent Timo Glock is all but signed, while the 2nd seat looked set to go to yet another Russian, Mikhail Aleshin. Like his countryman Petrov, the rookie Aleshin brings with him millions to the team. At this point no one appears to have a clue who will be the HRT drivers next year, but after turning down Williams’ offer of being loaned to that team, we can practically rule out Hulkenberg in a Hispania next year.
At Force India, incumbent Adrian Sutil, yet another German like Hulkenberg, has been with the team in its various guises since 2007, and the son of an Uruguayan immigrant and a German mother had an impressive 2010. Lewis Hamilton’s buddy actually had his sights on a top team, specifically the second seat at Renault, but after Petrov’s impressive showing at the finale in Abu Dhabi, plus his millions from Russian companies like carmaker LADA, Adrian’s chances at the French team appears to have dwindled down. Most likely, he will continue with the Indian team for a fifth year in a row. His 2010 teammate, ex-F3000 champion Vitantonio Liuzzi had a disappointing season, but apparently has a contract for 2011. Still, as can be seen from lots of instances in the past, contracts mean nothing in the world of Grand Prix racing. Yet even if Liuzzi is dropped by FI, their test driver, Scotsman Paul di Resta looked set to race for the Silverstone-based squad. Another contender for that seat is yet another German, Nick Heidfeld, who drove for the team in 2004 when they were known as Jordan. So even at the Mercedes-powered team, Hulkenberg’s chances appear to be marginal at best.
So at this point, it appears the most likely destination for Hulkenberg for 2011 would be a third driver role at one of the top teams. Mercedes appears to be the best bet, as the German squad also employs the other Weber client, Michael Schumacher. He could possibly be groomed to replace the old man when he finally retires. There were also rumors at some role at Schumacher’s old team, Ferrari, and with Felipe Massa’s form being questioned as of late, the Hulk may have some slim chance of driving for the Scuderia someday.
Whatever happens, if he doesn’t get an F1 seat and the likes of Aleshin and Maldonado get one, it puts into question the quality of some of the drivers in the grid. While no one will doubt the talents of an Alonso, Hamilton, or Vettel, people will begin to question some of the drivers if this trend of buying race seats continue. Twenty something years ago, when there were close to 40 cars trying to get into the F1 grid, the field was populated by pay drivers whose names not even the most fanatic follower can remember. Deletraz, Bouillon, Inoue, and all those forgettable drivers arrived and left with hardly anyone noticing them. With manufacturers pulling out one by one, teams must find funding from different sources, and in a prolonged economic recession like what we are in right now, small, private F1 teams may have no choice. It may not look good for them, but it might be necessary for their very survival. As ugly as it seems, everyone must accept it, in order for us to see more than a handful of cars on the Grand Prix grid.
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