Hulkenberg on silly season: 'Am busy making calls'

Nico Hulkenberg hopes he can grab points again with Haas F1 next weekend. The Formula 1 circus has touched down in China, where there has been no racing in recent years. Hulkenberg is one of the Formula 1 drivers with the most experience at the Shanghai International Circuit. The German is also entering the silly season now that Fernando Alonso has announced he will stay with Aston Martin.

Haas F1 has headed to China with several improvements for the car. "There are some little bits and bobs that look good on paper and in theory, but as always, you have to verify them on track, and make sure the correlation is good. But yes, better to have an upgrade this early in the season in the tight midfield battle than not to have them," said the veteran driver.

He thinks the VF-24 should be able to go a bit better this weekend than it did in Japan a fortnight ago. "It really should, and I hope so. It's a lot more low-speed content I think, which is where the car feels more at home. I've always had good memories here. I've raced here nine times and really like the flow and the layout of the circuit. So yes, it's an exciting one ahead."

Experience

Because the Grand Prix of China is a sprint weekend, the drivers only have one free practice to get everything on track. Formula 1 has not raced here since the new regulations were introduced in 2022. "Less practise sessions obviously present more opportunity, maybe more chances, but we have to make sure that we get it right ourselves. Obviously, everyone is in the same situation there, but I feel quite okay going into this weekend with just the one-hour practice."

Will Alonso's decision to extend his contract at this stage of the season speed up the allocation of seats for 2025? "Not necessarily. It's always difficult to foresee that and to predict. For some, it might move quite quickly, for others, maybe not. But it's definitely a very interesting situation right now. The driver market is very dynamic and very fluid, and I'm sure all the drivers with no contract for 2025 are pretty busy right now, having lots of conversations, checking options and trying to fix the future. The same applies to me." Hulkenberg's contract at Haas F1 expires after this season.