As of: March 14, 2024, 6:23 p.m
By: Hannes Niemeyer
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Strong start to the season for Nico Hülkenberg.
But the Formula 1 driver could have sparked a debate about the rules with his first World Championship point.
Jeddah – Nico Hülkenberg again and again!
The German driver is one of the most discussed drivers after the first two races of the new season in Formula 1. Because he is the only German on the grid, the attention in this country is particularly high.
And he gave his team, the crisis-hit Haas racing team, their first reason to celebrate.
At the race in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Hülkenberg put in a strong performance in tenth place, giving the team their first point in the World Championship standings early in the season.
And that despite the fact that many experts had predicted that his racing team would be near the end of the points chain, as has often been the case in recent years.
Why is this so special?
Because it is the first time in 21 races that a Haas driver finished in the points.
Trouble after Nico Hülkenberg's race?
Voices about rule changes are becoming louder.
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Darko Bandic + dpa |
Hasan Bratic
Formula 1 star Hülkenberg sensationally scored in the points – but there are problems with the rules
However, even after his success, Hülkenberg's personality remains hotly debated, in two different directions.
On the one hand, this is due to young Ferrari driver Oliver Bearman.
He recently stepped in for Scuderia's regular driver Carlos Sainz, who was ill, and achieved a strong seventh place.
There were immediately rumors as to whether Bearman would have earned a place with Ferrari's partner team Haas next season - possibly at Hülkenberg's expense.
On the other hand, after the famous journey from Jeddah, voices were also heard in the other direction.
Ex-Haas team boss and Formula 1 cult star Günther Steiner, for example, already saw Hülkenberg as a possible successor to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
Hülkenberg's fabulous ride not only caused discussions, but also anger.
Hülkenberg's teammate Kevin Magnussen received a ten-second penalty in the race in Jeddah for an unfair advantage.
He was the victim of a rule change already introduced by the FIA, which increased the penalty time from five to ten seconds this season.
Two more penalties followed for Magnussen, meaning his chances of a good placing were gone.
But the anger started to gain momentum.
Second driver “sacrificed”?
First demand for Formula 1 rule changes due to Hülkenberg race
Given his situation, Magnussen put himself fully at the service of the team and tried to block drivers who could have become dangerous to his teammate Hülkenberg.
The German was able to complete a pit stop without falling out of the top 10.
Smart team strategy – or rather unfair behavior?
In any case, the discussion has started.
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Alex Albon, a driver for the rival team Williams, said Haas did a “great job” with his tactics after the race.
However, he also criticized the approach.
“Why shouldn't you do it like that everywhere?” he questioned the situation and fears that other teams could adopt the tactic of “sacrificing” one driver, so to speak, in order to keep the other in the points.
According to him, time penalties of five or ten seconds are therefore “not right”.
The FIA should rather adapt the rules so that the position has to be “given back again”, continued Albon.
So does Hülkenberg's Triumph drive immediately trigger a reaction from the FIA?
In any case, the teams seem to have found a way to use the time penalty to their advantage.
Increasing the penalty from five to ten seconds probably won't change that.
This would simply prevent the “return” of the position as Albon brought it into play.
A somewhat harsher type of time penalty, the so-called “drive-through penalty,” would also be conceivable.
The driver would then have to drive through the pit lane observing the speed limit without stopping.
(han)