Nico Hulkenberg hints at ‘strategic reasons’ behind Carlos Sainz’s Audi F1 snub

In the F1 2025 season, Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz will not be teammates.

Nico Hulkenberg suggested the long-term future was a key factor in Carlos Sainz’s decision-making as the German spoke publicly for the first time since Sainz’s move to Williams was confirmed.

Hulkenberg and Sainz, who were teammates at Renault in 2017 and 2018, seemed likely to reunite at Sauber the following season as Sainz pondered his career options after Ferrari. However, the reunion did not materialize, with Sainz choosing to move to Williams instead of following Hulkenberg to his next stop in Switzerland.

Nico Hulkenberg gives thoughts on Carlos Sainz’s Audi snub

Sainz’s future has been a prominent topic of discussion in the F1 paddock following the surprising confirmation of Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari before the 2024 F1 season. However, the day after the latest race in Belgium, all the speculation about Sainz’s future ended. The Spanish driver spurned Audi, even though they had been pursuing him for an extended period.

However, Hulkenberg was not surprised by Sainz’s decision to go with Grove, implying that Sainz’s future, considering he is 29 years old, was a significant consideration in his choice.

“He wasn’t surprised,” he informed media outlets, including PlanetF1.com, at Zandvoort about Sainz’s decision. “Clearly, he took a lot of time to think and was unsure about it,” he added.

I believe there are other strategic reasons influencing his positioning for the future, and I think that was a significant factor in his decision.

Clearly, I haven’t dedicated much thought to his decision. It’s now a done deal, and the rest will become apparent in time.

It’s uncertain if Sainz has a clause allowing him to depart if a larger team expresses interest. However, both he and the Williams team have emphasized that he has committed to them for the “foreseeable future”.

Hulkenberg declared that he is not considering next year yet, focusing instead on finishing what has been a remarkable year with Haas.

The German, who recently celebrated his 37th birthday, is gearing up for his next challenge, Zandvoort. Surprisingly, he only drove on this circuit for the first time last year as an F1 driver.

“He commented on the Circuit Zandvoort, stating, ‘Despite its seemingly small size for current Formula 1 cars, it is the roller coaster-like experience that sets it apart. There are a lot of ups and downs, undulations, and bankings. Its big dimensions are obvious.'”

“I enjoy this circuit and it holds many fond memories from my early days in racing. I have a strong connection with Holland, as it is essentially where my motorsport career began. My feelings towards this country and its circuits are overwhelmingly positive.”

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Hulkenberg aims to rebound in the Netherlands, following the first part of the year where he did not score any points.

“He said, ‘We just haven’t been competitive enough in the last two before the summer break. I believe the hot temperatures on Sunday in Hungary caused us some issues, and generally, I think we’re suffering from a lack of downforce.”

Simply put, it wasn’t compatible with the car. We couldn’t find an optimal performance level, leading to continuous difficulties.

That was challenging. I am hesitant to make any further predictions for this weekend. This year has been unpredictable; often we’d arrive at a circuit believing it would be in our favor, only to find the opposite true, and vice versa.

“We need to simply run some laps here and assess how the package performs and feels.”

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