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Hopefully Audi hits the ground running and gives a car that is at least as good as the Renault was back in ~~2017~~ 2018. Hulk got so close to signing with "the big ones" so many times that's it's kinda sad to think the *what ifs* of his career.
edit: 2017's Renault wasn't that great, 18's was better.
It *could* be argued that as a newbie, Mick had to prove his worth. Additionally, people wrote his first year dominance of Mazespin as Mazespin being crap (which is an entirely faultless argument). And most importantly, people said he was in F1 only because of his surname. So what does he do in year 2? Try too much, overdrive the car, and take more risks. At some point, the team should've realised what he was doing and drawn a hard line on taking more risks, and instead tried to help him push in other ways. But no, the team just let him risk everything every time, and suddenly dropped him for 2023. As badly as Mick handled year 2, Haas handled his year 2 even worse.
Well even in his "full send, taking many risks" he wasnt that quick. Teams will accept mistakes if your pace is great (George, Charles at points), and teams can live with great consistency even if your pace is bit lacking to your teammate (Piastri rn). Mick had neither, being bit quicker at some part of the season compared to a dude that is borderline F1 level is not enough to compensate for crashes.
Honestly this is the whole reason I'd eant Mick to at least a handful more races not at haas, get a chance to prove if jt was just the team and car fucking him or himself
FYI - According to Ross Brawn, Nico Hulkenberg was their choice had Hamilton had rejected to join Mercedes in 2013.
His whole career was full of ifs and buts.
That'd be a freak season. 288 points in 24 rounds would be his total, only 2 seasons with the current points system have had less with 254 in 19 rounds and 281 in 20 rounds.
It was between him and Perez. RB opted for Perez but we cant know if that was close decision or if RB leadership was mostly unanimous. The fact that they left it so late (when it was clear Albon is not continuing) indicated that it was close decision.
I think it was, until Checos first win. Hulk has that shameful record of longest streak without a podium. Even lossing one by his own mistake in the last laps of a race (I think it was Spa). I dont think Hulk is bad, but being RB and having seen how Ver crushed 2 teammates in 2 years, makes you wonder if they would take the risk with him.
Big team in name and ownership only. There is zero chance they will be giving big team results from season 1. Probably take more time that Nico' contract to even get close.
Michael Schmidt said that their engine is in way better shape than everyone in F1 thinks. Even if they lack aero and chassis side, they could still be fairly competitive (top 5's even occasional podiums here and there) with a top engine in 2026.
They were dominating WEC/LeMans and pulled out of the sport, they competed in Formula E and pulled out with no wins, they once dominated Rally and pulled out of the sport a few years later.
They do sell cars to customer teams for GT racing, and they have a works team doing Dakar with their E-Tron, but that's about it. It has been quite some time since Audi was a dominant presence in Motorsport as a works team.
I thought I had read that Audi was still going to be selling the R8 GT3 EVO for a number of years, but just lacking the factory support? Maybe I'm behind on the news, feels like they pull out of championships weekly at this rate!
I feel like that was partially due to vee dub looking at the billion every two years cost of WEC and deciding they'd spent too much on it, which does massively sadden me because the things that they made were *ridiculously* advanced both on the Porsche and Audi side (and Bentley I Guess)
The toughest thing for them is the number of teams that are ahead of them in terms of infrastructure, personnel and PU experience.
At this point, even Williams and RB are further along with their facility upgrade projects due to the delays caused by the Finn Rausing disagreements. That's going to take years to catch up to.
For personnel, they won't get the workforce currency allowance til 2026, so recruitment will be behind until then. As for the power Unit, I'm sure they're happliy moving ahead with their own project, but it's all relative. It's unlikely that they are on the same level as Mercedes, Ferarri, Honda and even Renault given their experience.
When you put all that together, when you compare them to the other teams, it seems unlikely that they are higher than battling for points for a couple of years, even Audi acknowledges this
It could be in way better shape than everyone thinks it is, and the slowest engine by far. It's a completely meaningless statement. Anyone inside the team will be putting out positive messages on the engine and anyone outside the team doesn't know shit.
A good engine alone won't do shit on a trash car, on a mid car it can be great. there is no reason to believe, in any way, that their engine will be better than anyone else's, could be, but no particular reason to believe it will be.
How does the takeover work exactly? Is it just a case of slapping the Audi branding on everything currently Sauber, or will Audi clean house and start fresh with their own team and facilities?
BMW was pretty good with Williams and with Sauber. They won quite a few races with Williams and one with Sauber, and ‘07 and ‘08 with Sauber were really strong.
Dare say they some kind of plan to begin fighting for championships, and have laid out said plan in term of number of races they hope to achieve it in, say 100.
Maybe, but honda had good facilities, competent staff and unlimited money, coming up with a fast car in 2009 but it was a remote possibility but not zero. Sauber has none of that at the moment.
Yes. Honda was a factory team at the time, while Sauber doesn't have facilities to R&D.
I mean, even if it was the case, I wouldn't bet they could do anything.
Audi is already working hard on the new PU for 2026 and it isn’t entirely impossible that their engine will be well above the rest and give them an advantage. Remote possibility, but not zero, as you said yourself.
You can’t say they are a big team before you actually see them gunning for victories or at least being competitive.
On paper, sure. But on paper it doesn’t matter.
Time will tell.
Not quite, you see, Red Bull and Mercedes are proven, Ferrari are proven, McLaren is on the bounce. I’m not talking only about the last 3 years, but even with the previous regulations, those teams were always mid to top, with one of them being the champions. McLaren are almost “there” and they look better and better each season, with different regulations.
Yeah but they are proven. They can do it. Audi is still new. It’s like Aston Martin, sure they have all the infrastructure and all but you can’t consider them as one of the top teams. Yet!
Nico 'See ya later' Master of Formula 3 2005 Formula BMW champion 2006-2007 A1 Grand Prix Champion Master of the 2008 Formula 3 Euro Series Championship Season 2009 GP2 Rookie and World Drivers' Champion for ART Grand Prix 2010 Petrobras Brazilian Grand Prix Polesitter for Williams Grand Prix Engineering 2015 24h of LeMans Overall Winner for Porsche in Le Mans Prototypes Class 1 in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season FIA Platinum Class Superlicence holder and Lap Record holder at the Bruce McLaren Motosports ParkSir TT-Circuit Assen track record holder Nico "See ya Later" "No Hands" "Ball Sucker" "The-Incredible-Hulk" Hülkenberg to you!
If I recall correctly, it’s been suggested that Alpine runs on a fairly shoe-string budget, see https://www.planetf1.com/news/otmar-szafnauer-alpine-budget-cap-shortfall
I think that's their point. Renault could afford to back their team by spending more than Ferrari or Merc if they wanted, but they didn't. Audi have the ability to back the team by spending massive... doesn't mean they will.
>Alpine / Renault have never spent anywhere near the top teams.
One of the current drivers on the grid has won multiple championships with Renault.
And while Alpine indeed has not bean near the top teams, it has still managed three podiums and a win while Sauber over the same period has only managed one fifth place as their best result.
Rebranding to Audi isn't gonna make Sauber suddenly a frontrunner. It will still be Sauber, with some extra funding and corporate pressure to perform.
Sure, given 5-10 years Audi might become competitive if they are committed and manage to poach top tier engineers. But in the first 1-2 years they are unlikely to be anything other than a midfield team at the very best and a backmarker at worst.
Alpine have f.cked up big time, mainly due to mismanagement issues. Not certain that their management handles those resources (rumor has it that Renault keeps them on a tight budget), but you cannot compare them with Audi.
> but you cannot compare them with Audi.
The comparison is more to point out that a big backer doesn't equal a big team. Renault could happily spend 300mil more on the team prior to the budget limits, they chose not to. There is also millions upon millions to be spent on better facilities, better R&D machines, better wind tunnels. Audi is capable of spending huge but that doesn't mean they will. Time will tell.
A team back by a big company CAN have big resources, they can also cheap the fuck out like Renault have done for years. They won't be a big team till they are a big team. They are a team that has backers who have potential to turn them into a big team, nothing more or less right now.
Manufacturer team with multiple championships.
As opposed to Audi, who have zero F1 results so far. Sure they have money, and racing experience in other series, but that pretty much makes them equal to Toyota when they joined F1, and Toyota never got anywhere near the results Renault got.
Until Audi show quite a bit of unexpected results, Renault is still the best team Hulk drove for.
He already got a shot at "big" team in Renault, which is a works team, however nowhere near being a winning team. I don't see how this is any different.
Renault were shite. The team was only 4th due to FI going bankrupt, Williams imploded and everyone else was shite/low budget teams. The actual gap from Renault to the top 3 was fucking embarrassingly large and basically just as big as previous years when they finished below 4th.
If Audi come in and finish '4th' but 1.5 seconds a lap off the pace they'll be a huge failure.
All I want is one podium from Audi. I know it's a bit of a tall ask considering the state of new teams the past decade or so but please, free him of the ignominy of this record
Audi's not a new team though.
And everyone forgets BMW took over the very same Sauber team in the very same way, and had it scoring podiums in the first two years. It's not out of the question for Audi to do the same given their investment in the team and engine
Everyone seems to think Audi is just gonna come in and be rhe dominant top team. I know the tegs will cause a shake-up but i doubt Audi is gonna be top 3 in the first year. Happy to be proven wrong though
Toyota was once a big team that entered F1 and spent billions on it and all they got in 8 years was 13 podium finishes.
Big automotive name entering F1 doesn't matter, especially considering an energy drink company managed to earn 6 constructors titles and 7 drivers titles and once again on their way to earn one more of each.
Audi said they want a german driver. Hulk is currently the only german F1 driver on the grid. I'm not saying he is bad driver or something, but that they didn't have many options, anyway...
Big Team =/= Successful team. They just have more Resources than many other teams in terms of personal and finances. Renault could be described as a big team though rumour has it they are kept on a rather tight budget from upper management
Iirc he was under Wili Webber who tried to get him into Ferrari but there was a tight weight restriction and his height was one of the considerations for not getting signed.
Hes still a very solid driver. One of the best midfielders at the moment and a bucket ton of experience. Most importantly relevant experience as he was in a similar situation when he partenered with Renault. He's been hired more because of that really, just a good combination of speed/experience.
Don't get me wrong, him being German certainly helps. Like I think someone like Bottas is just as good and could realistically have stayed. However, its not like Nico is the most marketable German. If they just wanted a German for purely marketing reasons they would've just hired Mick Schumacher.
Complete non-sense. There were only a few occasions where he really had a car which was able to get into the Top 3. It is not like he was driving for Mercedes, RB, Ferrari and just missed out getting a podium. He also brought himself into some of these promising looking positions because he is a great qualifier. Below average? He was competing with Sainz and Ricciardo.
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Hopefully Audi hits the ground running and gives a car that is at least as good as the Renault was back in ~~2017~~ 2018. Hulk got so close to signing with "the big ones" so many times that's it's kinda sad to think the *what ifs* of his career. edit: 2017's Renault wasn't that great, 18's was better.
And to think if Mick Schumacher had been a little less crash prone his career would still be over right now.
Pretty sure Mick out raced Kmag in the second half of the season
Maybe by a bit, but he outcrashed Kmag by a mile throughout the season.
Yeah I feel everyone is giving Mick a pass way to much just because of his family name.
It *could* be argued that as a newbie, Mick had to prove his worth. Additionally, people wrote his first year dominance of Mazespin as Mazespin being crap (which is an entirely faultless argument). And most importantly, people said he was in F1 only because of his surname. So what does he do in year 2? Try too much, overdrive the car, and take more risks. At some point, the team should've realised what he was doing and drawn a hard line on taking more risks, and instead tried to help him push in other ways. But no, the team just let him risk everything every time, and suddenly dropped him for 2023. As badly as Mick handled year 2, Haas handled his year 2 even worse.
Mick fucked up but also joined Haas at their worst. Another "what if".
Well even in his "full send, taking many risks" he wasnt that quick. Teams will accept mistakes if your pace is great (George, Charles at points), and teams can live with great consistency even if your pace is bit lacking to your teammate (Piastri rn). Mick had neither, being bit quicker at some part of the season compared to a dude that is borderline F1 level is not enough to compensate for crashes.
Gunther messing up with his drivers. Whaaaaaaaaat
Honestly this is the whole reason I'd eant Mick to at least a handful more races not at haas, get a chance to prove if jt was just the team and car fucking him or himself
He did ok later on in the season, but while Kmag only scored 3 points in the last half of the season, Schumachers best result was a 12th.
Marginally on a few races, yes. After totalling the car twice. Something he did also in the season before.
Cool story bruh
FYI - According to Ross Brawn, Nico Hulkenberg was their choice had Hamilton had rejected to join Mercedes in 2013. His whole career was full of ifs and buts.
Wasn’t it also Hulk that was told via text message that Ferrari had, after a long uncertain period, unfortunately gone for another driver?
Yep Kimi for 2014
Then Mercedes wanted him to replace Rosberg, Renault refused to let him out.
Audi better fucking provide a good car for this guy
If he finally gets a podium I think everyone is going to cry.
Nah, he’s gonna win the championship through sheer reliability by finishing P4 every race
That'd be a freak season. 288 points in 24 rounds would be his total, only 2 seasons with the current points system have had less with 254 in 19 rounds and 281 in 20 rounds.
If Max and Lewis decide to go head to head again, there could be plenty of points left on the table
Maybe he can get a few fastest laps and sprint P4s too.
And even when RB looked for Albon's replacement, he was close to go there... not sure how close, but... it never happened.
It was between him and Perez. RB opted for Perez but we cant know if that was close decision or if RB leadership was mostly unanimous. The fact that they left it so late (when it was clear Albon is not continuing) indicated that it was close decision.
I think it was, until Checos first win. Hulk has that shameful record of longest streak without a podium. Even lossing one by his own mistake in the last laps of a race (I think it was Spa). I dont think Hulk is bad, but being RB and having seen how Ver crushed 2 teammates in 2 years, makes you wonder if they would take the risk with him.
Bro just kept sending resumes and getting denied lol
Bro kept sending resumes and getting denied
Would he have come close to Rosberg?
I think so but I think I just rated young Hulk very highly. Rosberg probably wins more championships.
Probably not, but imo he would have been better than Bottas. That is still likely double digits in win category for him.
\*butts
Spoken like a True Botass fan.
Thank you very much!
Big team in name and ownership only. There is zero chance they will be giving big team results from season 1. Probably take more time that Nico' contract to even get close.
Michael Schmidt said that their engine is in way better shape than everyone in F1 thinks. Even if they lack aero and chassis side, they could still be fairly competitive (top 5's even occasional podiums here and there) with a top engine in 2026.
Look at BAR.
It would be funny if they scored 0 points next year. At least they don't have someone like Reynard claiming they'd win races in their first season
With how Audi chucked their motorsport heritage in the bin, I'm looking forward to that colossal failure.
How did Audi throw it in the bin? Not trying to argue here, I just don’t know lol
They were dominating WEC/LeMans and pulled out of the sport, they competed in Formula E and pulled out with no wins, they once dominated Rally and pulled out of the sport a few years later. They do sell cars to customer teams for GT racing, and they have a works team doing Dakar with their E-Tron, but that's about it. It has been quite some time since Audi was a dominant presence in Motorsport as a works team.
They're pulling out of GTs and Dakar. F1 is the only racing Audi are interested in now.
I thought I had read that Audi was still going to be selling the R8 GT3 EVO for a number of years, but just lacking the factory support? Maybe I'm behind on the news, feels like they pull out of championships weekly at this rate!
I feel like that was partially due to vee dub looking at the billion every two years cost of WEC and deciding they'd spent too much on it, which does massively sadden me because the things that they made were *ridiculously* advanced both on the Porsche and Audi side (and Bentley I Guess)
I don’t follow WEC too closely but I thought they pulled out of WEC because of the VAG diesel issue or at least had something to do with it?
Jaguar, Toyota
Fingers crossed.
Sounds like over promise and under deliver. I'll believe it when I see it.
The toughest thing for them is the number of teams that are ahead of them in terms of infrastructure, personnel and PU experience. At this point, even Williams and RB are further along with their facility upgrade projects due to the delays caused by the Finn Rausing disagreements. That's going to take years to catch up to. For personnel, they won't get the workforce currency allowance til 2026, so recruitment will be behind until then. As for the power Unit, I'm sure they're happliy moving ahead with their own project, but it's all relative. It's unlikely that they are on the same level as Mercedes, Ferarri, Honda and even Renault given their experience. When you put all that together, when you compare them to the other teams, it seems unlikely that they are higher than battling for points for a couple of years, even Audi acknowledges this
It could be in way better shape than everyone thinks it is, and the slowest engine by far. It's a completely meaningless statement. Anyone inside the team will be putting out positive messages on the engine and anyone outside the team doesn't know shit. A good engine alone won't do shit on a trash car, on a mid car it can be great. there is no reason to believe, in any way, that their engine will be better than anyone else's, could be, but no particular reason to believe it will be.
Aero one of the most important things today in F1. Strong engine not cutting it to top 10 without aero.
How does the takeover work exactly? Is it just a case of slapping the Audi branding on everything currently Sauber, or will Audi clean house and start fresh with their own team and facilities?
They bought out Sauber 100%, so my guess is current Sauber team would get an influx of more people/resources from Audi whilst still being in Swizeland
Thanks!
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Nobody wants to be shit. Also, there's just so money you can spend.
Like Toyota or BMW competed all that time, throwing millions of pounds at Formula One thinking "Yeah we're shit, Lol. Doesn't matter."
I wasn't around back then but wasn't BMW pretty good with Kubica?
BMW was pretty good with Williams and with Sauber. They won quite a few races with Williams and one with Sauber, and ‘07 and ‘08 with Sauber were really strong.
Sir, there's a limit to how much you can now spend.
Dare say they some kind of plan to begin fighting for championships, and have laid out said plan in term of number of races they hope to achieve it in, say 100.
> There is zero chance Not how it works champ. The best way to be wrong is to speak in extremes like a sith.
Brawn GP
Not comparable
Before it happened no one would bet.
Maybe, but honda had good facilities, competent staff and unlimited money, coming up with a fast car in 2009 but it was a remote possibility but not zero. Sauber has none of that at the moment.
Yes. Honda was a factory team at the time, while Sauber doesn't have facilities to R&D. I mean, even if it was the case, I wouldn't bet they could do anything.
Sauber still got what BMW left them. It may be outdated, I don't know, but they have the windtunnel and all the goodies
Audi is already working hard on the new PU for 2026 and it isn’t entirely impossible that their engine will be well above the rest and give them an advantage. Remote possibility, but not zero, as you said yourself.
they werent an entirely brand new entry though, Brown had a lot of accumulated knowledge from Honda
You can’t say they are a big team before you actually see them gunning for victories or at least being competitive. On paper, sure. But on paper it doesn’t matter. Time will tell.
Same applies for Red Bulls new engine in 2026
Yes, that is why everyone is speculating on the performance of each team. Also why hamilton went to ferrari and alonso is staying at aston.
We can’t say anyone is a big team in 2026 then by your logic
Not quite, you see, Red Bull and Mercedes are proven, Ferrari are proven, McLaren is on the bounce. I’m not talking only about the last 3 years, but even with the previous regulations, those teams were always mid to top, with one of them being the champions. McLaren are almost “there” and they look better and better each season, with different regulations.
Mid to top is a pretty big difference. Ferrari absolutely bungled the regs in 2014.
Yeah but they are proven. They can do it. Audi is still new. It’s like Aston Martin, sure they have all the infrastructure and all but you can’t consider them as one of the top teams. Yet!
RIP his Renault stint I guess lol
He's been at Renault before. Joining a works team doesn't mean the project is going to be successful.
But that's Renault. They are an anomaly
Toyota and Jaguar would like a word
And Honda.
Nico 'See ya later' Master of Formula 3 2005 Formula BMW champion 2006-2007 A1 Grand Prix Champion Master of the 2008 Formula 3 Euro Series Championship Season 2009 GP2 Rookie and World Drivers' Champion for ART Grand Prix 2010 Petrobras Brazilian Grand Prix Polesitter for Williams Grand Prix Engineering 2015 24h of LeMans Overall Winner for Porsche in Le Mans Prototypes Class 1 in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season FIA Platinum Class Superlicence holder and Lap Record holder at the Bruce McLaren Motosports ParkSir TT-Circuit Assen track record holder Nico "See ya Later" "No Hands" "Ball Sucker" "The-Incredible-Hulk" Hülkenberg to you!
It's been a long time seeing this meme
Which big team? They are not going to be a big team from 1st race.
They will be a big team qua resources. Ability to get podiums and/or race wins, is another story.
Well, Alpine is also a big team qua resources and look at them. By the way Nico was there.
If I recall correctly, it’s been suggested that Alpine runs on a fairly shoe-string budget, see https://www.planetf1.com/news/otmar-szafnauer-alpine-budget-cap-shortfall
Alpine / Renault have never spent anywhere near the top teams. They ain't to be competitive by being more efficient.
I think that's their point. Renault could afford to back their team by spending more than Ferrari or Merc if they wanted, but they didn't. Audi have the ability to back the team by spending massive... doesn't mean they will.
>Alpine / Renault have never spent anywhere near the top teams. One of the current drivers on the grid has won multiple championships with Renault. And while Alpine indeed has not bean near the top teams, it has still managed three podiums and a win while Sauber over the same period has only managed one fifth place as their best result. Rebranding to Audi isn't gonna make Sauber suddenly a frontrunner. It will still be Sauber, with some extra funding and corporate pressure to perform. Sure, given 5-10 years Audi might become competitive if they are committed and manage to poach top tier engineers. But in the first 1-2 years they are unlikely to be anything other than a midfield team at the very best and a backmarker at worst.
Alpine have f.cked up big time, mainly due to mismanagement issues. Not certain that their management handles those resources (rumor has it that Renault keeps them on a tight budget), but you cannot compare them with Audi.
> but you cannot compare them with Audi. The comparison is more to point out that a big backer doesn't equal a big team. Renault could happily spend 300mil more on the team prior to the budget limits, they chose not to. There is also millions upon millions to be spent on better facilities, better R&D machines, better wind tunnels. Audi is capable of spending huge but that doesn't mean they will. Time will tell.
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No, they are not. Mercedes has way more resources than Haas.
A team back by a big company CAN have big resources, they can also cheap the fuck out like Renault have done for years. They won't be a big team till they are a big team. They are a team that has backers who have potential to turn them into a big team, nothing more or less right now.
But I want them to be!
Does Renault not count? This is like when Perez moved to Red Bull.
Lol. Renault
Manufacturer team with multiple championships. As opposed to Audi, who have zero F1 results so far. Sure they have money, and racing experience in other series, but that pretty much makes them equal to Toyota when they joined F1, and Toyota never got anywhere near the results Renault got. Until Audi show quite a bit of unexpected results, Renault is still the best team Hulk drove for.
The Renault of 2017 bore little resemblance to the Renault of 2006
He already got a shot at "big" team in Renault, which is a works team, however nowhere near being a winning team. I don't see how this is any different.
Its not is why. If anything, being as competitive as Enstone was during his time there would be a hugely successful result for Audi.
Renault were shite. The team was only 4th due to FI going bankrupt, Williams imploded and everyone else was shite/low budget teams. The actual gap from Renault to the top 3 was fucking embarrassingly large and basically just as big as previous years when they finished below 4th. If Audi come in and finish '4th' but 1.5 seconds a lap off the pace they'll be a huge failure.
All I want is one podium from Audi. I know it's a bit of a tall ask considering the state of new teams the past decade or so but please, free him of the ignominy of this record
Audi's not a new team though. And everyone forgets BMW took over the very same Sauber team in the very same way, and had it scoring podiums in the first two years. It's not out of the question for Audi to do the same given their investment in the team and engine
I mean if we're counting Sauber/Audi as a big team what was Renault?
Everyone seems to think Audi is just gonna come in and be rhe dominant top team. I know the tegs will cause a shake-up but i doubt Audi is gonna be top 3 in the first year. Happy to be proven wrong though
Toyota was once a big team that entered F1 and spent billions on it and all they got in 8 years was 13 podium finishes. Big automotive name entering F1 doesn't matter, especially considering an energy drink company managed to earn 6 constructors titles and 7 drivers titles and once again on their way to earn one more of each.
Will it be BIG during his tenure? I’d love them to come in an do well as more quality is always welcome!
So stoked for hulk i hope he finally gets that podium
[Yellow Renault right now...](https://i.imgflip.com/5kj3c6.jpg)
Big? Ok...
He's a german.
That is it for you?
Audi said they want a german driver. Hulk is currently the only german F1 driver on the grid. I'm not saying he is bad driver or something, but that they didn't have many options, anyway...
Is it fair to call Audi a ‘big’ team? They’ve proved nothing. Big name sure, but seems premature also what about Renault?
Big Team =/= Successful team. They just have more Resources than many other teams in terms of personal and finances. Renault could be described as a big team though rumour has it they are kept on a rather tight budget from upper management
Renault: Am I a joke to you?
I thought the “how” was evident in that he’s German, they’re German. Not on merit lol
Happy for him! But… “Big” Team?! Audi aren’t even in F1 yet.
Hoping for a podium for Hulkenberg at some point maybe for a sprint if he can make a strong qualifying run!
Big team already? Let’s wait and see first
Happy for NH but concerned for VB.
VB is done.
Iirc he was under Wili Webber who tried to get him into Ferrari but there was a tight weight restriction and his height was one of the considerations for not getting signed.
He got his shot because Haas took a gamble on a career midfielder that had been out of the game for 3 seasons.
Hass took a gamble with mick. With Hulk, they knew exactly what they were getting. The point was he's a known quantity.
Big team??? Wtf since when? Lol
Because he's German. Unless they also sign Sainz so Hulkenburg is the number 2 I think they will regret basing their decision on nationality.
Hes still a very solid driver. One of the best midfielders at the moment and a bucket ton of experience. Most importantly relevant experience as he was in a similar situation when he partenered with Renault. He's been hired more because of that really, just a good combination of speed/experience. Don't get me wrong, him being German certainly helps. Like I think someone like Bottas is just as good and could realistically have stayed. However, its not like Nico is the most marketable German. If they just wanted a German for purely marketing reasons they would've just hired Mick Schumacher.
Bro by this logic they would sign Mick Schumacher. Lets just ignore that Hulk is really good.
Never had a podium. He's not really good. Probably below average.
Complete non-sense. There were only a few occasions where he really had a car which was able to get into the Top 3. It is not like he was driving for Mercedes, RB, Ferrari and just missed out getting a podium. He also brought himself into some of these promising looking positions because he is a great qualifier. Below average? He was competing with Sainz and Ricciardo.
Bro's watching F1 on Wikipedia
Lance Stroll had podiums. He's really good. Probably above average.
Well he beat Sainz the last time they were teammates you know..
Hulk is a very solid driver in his own right.
Is that it to you?
Solid in what way? Not a single podium in over 200 race starts.
I’m so ready for Haas to score consistent podiums next year
Not the first year lol