Interview with Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg

The Monaco Grand Prix saw Nico Hulkenberg make amends for his crash of 2010 by registering a third points finish of 2012. The German’s eighth place was the best of his season so far, having achieved ninth in Malaysia and tenth in Spain. The Force India driver shares his feelings of a first full 78 racing laps of Monte Carlo in an F1 car.

Nico, you got some solid points in Monaco with eighth place, just behind Paul (di Resta, team-mate). Are you pleased with the way it worked out?
I think from a team perspective we can be happy because we picked up a few points, which is good. I would rather have finished seventh, but it was the classic example in Monaco of stopping a bit earlier and then running into traffic with Kimi (Raikkonen). Paul got just the edge there with a free track and came out in front but, all in all, it was a very strong team performance.

How did things go at the start – did you see the accident ahead?
It was pretty messy! I was on the inside, so I didn’t see what happened exactly – I just suddenly saw a Lotus (Romain Grosjean) square in front of me. The only way to avoid it was to go on the inside because it was blocked with cars on the left. Luckily, I got through there without any contact. I was ninth after the first lap, so I gained a place.

Paul’s strategy worked out better – any regrets about your choice?
I was starting on the Super Soft and he was on the Soft, so it was always clear that he was going a bit longer. Mine would have worked better, but obviously with the traffic things didn’t come together.

Were you happy with the car?
The car was good, it performed well. I think we showed some good speed there; I did a 1:18.4 second lap after the stop, when I had a clear lap.

Any thoughts on the next race in Montreal?
It’s a good circuit and I enjoy visiting Canada. I did Friday last year and in 2010 with Williams my pace was good. I enjoy driving there so I’m looking forward to it, but I have no idea how competitive we will be! Interview provided by the Force India press office