Hulkenberg sure to be in F1 in 2011

Nico Hulkenberg blogs about his first season in Formula 1. He reveals how he spends in his free time and how the first year in Formula 1 changed him.

"The 2010 season is over and I am happy and sad at the same time. My first year in Formula 1 was very cool and I learned a lot. On the other hand, it was also a very long and difficult season; especially the first eight races have been very hard for me. The low point was in Shanghai and Istanbul where we weren’t competitive at all.

"I realized quickly through my team mate Rubens Barrichello how important it is to have experience in this sport. Rubens was the strongest team mate I ever had and I am very pleased with the year at his side. He helped me with my development. We are both very ambitious pilots and of course everyone wanted to beat the other every time. However, we have, I think, worked well together and taken the team forward. We exchanged our racing helmets in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. We both wrote something personal for each other on it. I hope Rubens will stay in Formula 1 for a long time and I wish him all the best.

"It is not easy to get into Formula 1 nowadays. Now I know that I might have said too much at the beginning of the season. I will try to explain:

"Before my time in Formula 1 everything went more than well in A1, Gp2 and the F3 series. While 2008 and 2009 I was test driver at Williams and I felt really good there. 2009 I had the mega season in GP2 - I had my team mates under control, have won a lot of races and at the end the championship.

"Then I came to F1. Of course, I was highly motivated and on fire. During the winter the team was quite sure that podiums in 2010 would not be enough. I only had seven days of testing before my first race weekend in Bahrain. It was quite difficult to understand the tires, how to bring the brakes on temperature and how to get a feeling for the perfect setup and many more, difficulties every Rookie has to face.

"Our car was quite difficult to drive, especially in these first eight races and I was not able to handle it compared to Rubens who has 18 years of experience in Formula 1. Therefore he looked stronger most of the time. But I have not given up; on the contrary, I still believed in myself and worked even harder. I really had to fight for the good results!

"Altogether I can say that I was not happy with the first half of the season. I don’t know if that means “gaining experience”, but I was quite pissed. It went better and better for myself starting with Montreal (a great track by the way!). That was also the time where the updates of the car started to work.

"The absolute highlight of the season was of course the pole in Brazil. “Mann, mann, mann”, that was just INCREDIBLE!...Such a goose bump feeling! I watched my lap already around 100 times and I am very proud. Even though, I finished “only” in P8. It was a really positive race for me. And 1 point was important to finish in front of Force India, which meant P6 in the constructors’ championship.

"At this point I would like to thank the Williams team for three great years. Although it is very, very sad that the cooperation will not continue, I am glad to have been part of the team.

"I’m still sure that I stay in F1 in 2011. Sure you read all of this in the media. I still do not have a new contract with another team, but that will hopefully change very soon. It looks well!

"Currently I enjoy a little free time at home in Emmerich. After a long season, it is very nice to see my friends and family again. It is quite nice to sleep in my own bed after such a long season of travelling.

"Soon I will start to torture myself again to become fit for the new season. I am full of energy.

"Big thanks to everybody who has supported me throughout the year! It is good to see that there are people who believe in me, even when things are not working out sometimes. Thank you!

"I wish you all nice holidays and hope we’ll meet again in 2011!

From Hulkenberg’s blog on www.nicohulkenberg.net