Crisis leaves Hulkenberg’s F1 return in ’limbo’

Nico Hulkenberg admits the coronavirus crisis could scupper his plans to potentially return to Formula 1 in 2021.

Although the German lost his Renault race seat for 2020, Hulkenberg is now in the same situation as the active F1 drivers - caught up in the global shutdown.

But what makes his situation more complex is that he had hoped to try to find a new cockpit for 2021.

When asked if the current situation makes that harder, he said: "Good question that is difficult to answer.

"Everything is certainly out of the normal rhythm. The ’silly season’ is not taking place at the moment and without races, nobody can stand out - positively or negatively," Hulkenberg told Auto Motor und Sport.

"We are in a state of limbo."

One possibility is that teams will simply freeze their current driver lineups and contracts and push them into 2021, which would leave Hulkenberg on the bench.

"At the moment everything is speculative," Hulkenberg said. "It is not possible to predict how the cards will fall. It’s a new situation for everyone.

"If the world starts spinning again and the season does start, many questions will arise, so I can only stay on the ball, watch and hope that I am in the right place at the right time," he added.