09 September 2023 , 15:00
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Nico Hulkenberg voiced his interest in joining Audi's new Formula 1 project.
The German carmaker plans to officially enter the sport in 2026 when new engine regulations come into force. It will take over the Sauber F1 operation, which currently races under the Alfa Romeo name but will become the Audi works team once the project gets fully up and running.
Power unit production is already in full swing while lots of moves are being made behind the scenes. It is far too early to talk about which drivers will take the wheel of the Audi cars come 2026 but, inevitably, there has been plenty of speculation on that front.
Carlos Sainz has been named as the team's top long-term target. The Spaniard insists he is happy with Ferrari and that he has not yet begun to really think that far ahead, but understands Audi have held talks with Sainz and his entourage.
Mick Schumacher is another who has been linked, which makes sense given his surname and the fact he is German – both of which will be appealing to Audi. But the Mercedes reserve has been out of an F1 race seat for a year already and looks unlikely to land a 2024 berth either, which may hamper his chances.
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If Audi do want a German driver, then Hulkenberg may be quite a bit older but he certainly seems to be up for it. "It's definitely one of the very attractive projects right now and prospects for a new brand coming into F1," the Haas racer said.
"It's very exciting, a German manufacturer as well. They are people that I've worked with and done really well with before. It all sounds really nice and good on paper. Obviously, I need to put in the good work, keep driving convincing drives to maybe have a shot there. But only time will tell."
The fact he is talking about his future with one eye on Audi speaks volumes about Hulkenberg's career plan. He is already 36 but clearly imagines having several more years in the sport if he can.
Before he can focus on that, though, he has a job to do at Haas where he has just signed a contract extension for next season. He will hope the car the team gives him to drive will be a lot more competitive, given he was less-than-subtle about how he feels about his current machine after a dismal Italian Grand Prix.
"We are incredibly bad compared to our competition," he said. "As the only team, we didn't bring anything to Monza [upgrade]. No special package... If you do so little, you can't expect much. Honestly, we are not worthy of points here and far away anyways."