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Nico Hulkenberg is set to join the Kick Sauber team in 2025, ahead of their official transformation as Audi in 2026. However, before the move takes place next season, the German driver has commented on the time he was being discussed as a potential option for Red Bull Racing.
After Fernando Alonso (42 years) and Lewis Hamilton (39 years), Hulkenberg is the third oldest driver on the 2024 Formula 1 grid. He began his F1 journey in 2010 with Williams and then had spells with Force India, Sauber, and Renault, where he was eventually dropped in 2019.
In 2023, Nico Hulkenberg got a full-time seat with Haas F1 as the replacement for Mick Schumacher. In spite of being in the sport for over two decades, the 36-year-old has not been able to win a race to date.
Now, ahead of the 2026 season with Audi (Hulkenberg is signed with Kick Sauber for next season before they switch to Audi in 2026), the #27 racer has spoken about the missed opportunity to join Red Bull Racing. During an interview with GP Blog, Hulkenberg was questioned about the rumors of him almost becoming Max Verstappen's teammate.
"The end of 2020 when Checo [Perez] won his race in Bahrain. There were some discussions there, but obviously not clear enough. And then, when Checo won that race, he was so convincing that there was no way around him for Red Bull. I don't feel that was ever really realistic or going to happen."
The German was also questioned about how he might have fared against the three-time world champion.
"Max is probably the fastest driver that we've had in decades. It's obviously very tough to be next to him and be his teammate."
A brief look at Nico Hulkenberg's 2024 F1 season with Haas so far
After an overall disappointing 2023 season, Nico Hulkenberg began his 2024 Formula 1 campaign with a positive outlook. The result of the mindset along with crucial upgrades by the Haas F1 team became evident from the Saudi Arabian GP, the second race of the season.
Hulkenberg finished the race in 10th place, earning his first point for the year. Since then, the German has maintained that form, scoring points in Australia (9th place), China (10th place), and Miami (9th place after adding penalties to other drivers).
However, the highlights of the season came during both the Austrian and British GP, where Nico Hulkenberg clinched 6th place. This has boosted his points tally for the season to 22 points in 12 races. For reference, Hulkenberg was only able to score 9 points in the entire 2023 season.
