Hulkenberg dropped for 2011

[Williamsfan]

Well, I guess I am not so surprised after Sir Frank slagged him off pretty badly yesterday ('I can't offer a lot of good words about him') but it seems pretty rubbish to me to toss aside a driver with clearly so much potential as Nico possesses.  We've stuck with him for several years but I guess money has done the talking?  Anyway, full story from Autosport:

Nico Hulkenberg will not race for Williams in Formula 1 next season.

The 23-year-old German, who clinched his maiden pole position in Brazil a week ago - the team's first in five years, announced this morning that he will leave the team.

"I heavily regret that," Hulkenberg said in a statement. "I would have been happy to stay with Williams.

"I want to thank the team for a great time and I wish Williams all the best for the future."

Hulkenberg's manager, Willi Weber, says he is in discussions with other F1 teams and is sure that Hulkenberg will have a drive next season.

"I am negotiating with other teams," Weber said. "Nico will have his seat in F1 in 2011."

[Dare]

money talks and good drivers walk


Here's to Sir Frank 

[Scott]

Wow - I would have dropped Rubens before Hulk.  Unless Rubens is driving for free.

Weber probably went in and demanded something after the Pole Position and Frank told them to take a walk.

[Williamsfan]

I can only imagine that is true Scott.  The other thing is I wonder if Williams want to hang onto Rubens for next year to use his 'technical expertise' with the switch to Pirelli tyres and all the new things that come in.  Very disappointing though.  Rubens is very much the past whilst Nico is going to be big, I'm sure of it.

[Wats-on]

Wow - I would have dropped Rubens before Hulk.

Well, you have to consider the following:

Williams looses a couple of sponsors, which means a great amout of money. Hülkenberg had just been a year around in F1, so you can't expect him to develop a car as well as could be done by an experienced driver. Like Barrichello. I agree Rubens isn't the quickest driver around in the field, but he is not around for 19 (!!) years for being just a bad driver!

So a loss of money can be solved in two ways: find a pay-driver (like Maldonado) or get as many points as you can get.

I suppose that sir Frank is trying both at the same time: getting the points and develop the car in Barrichello, and get a pay-driver in Maldonado. Too bad for Hülkenberg, that is.

So although it is a pitty voor Nico, I can fully understand the dilemma of Frank and Patrick (Head). It is only sad that the once so unbeatable team now needs pay-drivers to survive... Looks a bit like Brabham and Lotus in their last days.

[John S]

I think if the rumours of Williams wanting Hulk to sign a 5 year contract are true then there is a touch more to this. If Williams were planning to farm Nico out for next year, the first of his 5 years and maybe the year after, he could end up in the Jenson at Benetton/Renault situation; namely a Williams driver who might never get to drive in a Williams car again?

I'm thinking that his management didn't want him to sign a long contract and end up in tail end cars when they might get him a ride there anyway. Seems funny if Frank, who was singing his praises 2 weeks ago, has changed his opinion after just this one last race. 

I hope he stays on the grid, but as we all know money can trump ability for most teams.

 

[cosworth151]

It's a shame, but money talks. With the loss of sponsorships, Williams will need a pay driver next year.

Besides, I gave up trying to figure out Sir Frank's driver choices a long time ago!

[Williamsfan]

I have not heard the rumours of Nico being loaned out, only the ones of Maldonado being loaned to HRT if he joined.  Interesting though! 

You definitely cannot predict who Sir Frank will go for.  I wonder if there is someone else other than Maldonado and his Venezuelan money signing for Williams (even if Adam Parr has been there in the last month on business)?

[Andy B]

I have not heard the rumours of Nico being loaned out, only the ones of Maldonado being loaned to HRT if he joined.  Interesting though! 

You definitely cannot predict who Sir Frank will go for.  I wonder if there is someone else other than Maldonado and his Venezuelan money signing for Williams (even if Adam Parr has been there in the last month on business)?

I read that Hulk was offered a multi-year deal but he would have been driving for HRT in 2011? If true could you blame him for not taking it? Would it have kept him in F1 as Karun Chandook had only a few drives this year but is still attched to the team.

[Jericoke]

I have not heard the rumours of Nico being loaned out, only the ones of Maldonado being loaned to HRT if he joined.  Interesting though! 

You definitely cannot predict who Sir Frank will go for.  I wonder if there is someone else other than Maldonado and his Venezuelan money signing for Williams (even if Adam Parr has been there in the last month on business)?

I read that Hulk was offered a multi-year deal but he would have been driving for HRT in 2011? If true could you blame him for not taking it? Would it have kept him in F1 as Karun Chandook had only a few drives this year but is still attched to the team.

The funny thing is... HRT will be taking a step forward next season.  Can Williams say the same thing?  Getting in on the 'ground floor' of a developing team can work wonders for you career.  Just ask Button or Vettel!

[Williamsfan]

They'll be taking a step forward using Williams technology...

Anyway, not convinced that they will move too far forward, they seem the weakest of the new teams and I am surprised they are even going to be around next season. 

[Dare]

Didn't Button first drive for Beneton?they were a 2 time
WC team that had fallen on hard times.

And Vettel had the TR that was almost a copy of sister
team Red Bull.TR took a step backwards when they had to'design their own car

[Williamsfan]

Button first drove for Williams before being 'loaned' to Benetton, but the situation is still the same as you wrote Dare.

[Dare]

Button first drove for Williams before being 'loaned' to Benetton, but the situation is still the same as you wrote Dare.

Refresh my memory on the Williams-Honda situation ,Williamsfan

Didn't Button have to pay Frank many million dollars to break
his contract?

[Jericoke]

Didn't Button first drive for Beneton?they were a 2 time
WC team that had fallen on hard times.

And Vettel had the TR that was almost a copy of sister
team Red Bull.TR took a step backwards when they had to'design their own car

Button's years at Honda were certainly 'bottom'.

And anyone who expected Vettel to win in a Toro Rosso... even as a copy of the RBR, that wasn't exactly a winning design itself.

And I'm not suggesting HRT will be better than Williams, just that it might be a more rewarding experience for a developing driver.  Hamilton and Villeneuve are the only champions I can name who didn't have to go through a growth process to win championship.  Almost everyone else had start at the bottom.  (And Hamilton managed to create a unique opportunity for himself, while Villeneuve arguably had proven himself in an IndyCar much stronger than we see today.)