Riccardo stands up for Hulkenberg: "He was faster at the beginning".

Nico Hulkenberg has been out of Formula 1 for a year now but a return is still possible. Several teams still have room for next year and possibly Red Bull wants to have someone else besides Verstappen. Daniel Ricciardo is very pleased with The Hulk

Ricciardo and Hulkenberg have been teammates at Renault for a year in 2019. The last year of the German in Formula 1. The Australian knows the strength of Hulkenberg: "We drivers know exactly how good he is. In the beginning at Renault he was faster than me, no question. But once I got used to the new team, I was able to challenge him", Ricciardo said to F1 insider.

In the end Ricciardo beat the German in points, partly because Hulkenberg more often did not make it to the finish. In qualifying Ricciardo clearly had the upper hand (14-7). Yet Hulkenberg did significantly better than Esteban Ocon did against Ricciardo until now.

Short return

For a while Hulkenberg returned this year because Sergio Perez was infected with corona. Hulkenberg rode two Grands Prix for Racing Point and beat Lance Stroll once. That doesn't surprise Ricciardo: "It was clear to me from the start that it wouldn't be easy for me. He was very technical and also very fast. But he was also much more relaxed than I thought. After all, he is German", the Renault driver jokes. The coming period will have to prove whether Hulkenberg's repuatie is good enough for a Formula 1 seat next year.