Hulkenberg on swap: "The choice of drivers is not only about performance"

Nico Hulkenberg will lose his Renault seat at the end of the 2019 Formula 1 season. Esteban Ocon will take his seat for the start of the 2020 season after the team made the announcement ahead of the Belgium Grand Prix weekend. 

By default, Hulkenberg will be forced to look elsewhere for the 2020 Formula 1 season. The former Force India driver joined Renault in 2017 and was confident he'd get a contract extension just a few weeks ago. He says it's a "pity" the journey ends here. 

It is well known that the choice of drivers is not only about performance, it is a whole bundle of factors. But that's the way it is. Surely we would all have liked to see it differently..

— Nico Hülkenberg (@HulkHulkenberg) August 29, 2019

Cyril Abiteboul, the boss of Renault wanted to thank Hulkenberg for his "phenomenal involvement and massive contribution" over the past three seasons. 

"I wish to thank Nico for his phenomenal involvement and massive contribution to our progress over the past three seasons. When Nico decided to join us, the team was ninth. He brought us to fourth place last year, and was classified seventh in the drivers’ championship," Abiteboul said.

"The imminent end of his contract made this decision a difficult one as Nico has been a pillar of this progress. The first part of this season has been more challenging, but I know we can count on him and deliver together throughout the second half of the year."