Nico Hulkenberg aiming to continue his competitiveness in 2013

Nico Hulkenberg is aiming to continue his competitiveness next season with Sauber, as the German driver prepares to lead the Hinwil-based outfit as they strive to emulate their results from the 2012 season. Throughout the year, Sauber finished on the podium three times with both drivers, however they failed to take their second race victory.

During the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix around Sao Paulo’s Interlagos circuit, Nico Hulkenberg led 30 laps for Force India after storming through the order in the early stages of the wet/dry race. The German looked on course for a superlative result, however two mistakes saw him eventually pick up a drive-thru penalty for a collision with Lewis Hamilton. However, Hulkenberg managed to finish 5th, a result he was overjoyed with.

With the season now over, Nico Hulkenberg is preparing for the next challenge of his Formula 1 career. After making his return to a full-time drive in 2012 with Force India, the German will switch teams once again for next season as the 25-year-old prepares to lead the Sauber F1 team alongside rookie and former GP3 Champion Esteban Gutierrez. Nico Hulkenberg is understandably eager to get his preparations underway, and is aiming for immediate competitiveness at Melbourne.

“That is the goal [to keep the momentum in 2013].” Explained Nico Hulkenberg, “As you say, there is no warm-up phase anymore, so I personally hope that I start performing right at the point where I finished at the end of 2012 - and that was a very promising point. I am changing teams so there will be a ‘getting to know each other’ phase but I am confident that this will go smoothly.”

Nico Hulkenberg will naturally be regarded as the lead driver at Sauber next season, with team-mate Esteban Gutierrez set to make his debut in the sport. Hulkenberg does not feel extra pressure at becoming a lead driver within a team, and feels his role will not differ greatly from the one which he held at Force India throughout the 2012 season.

“Yes, I feel ready for that.” Enthused Nico Hulkenberg, when asked whether he feels ready to lead the team. “It’s not a case of bringing extra pressure, it’s something that helps motivate me even more, but to be honest I don’t see my role as much different to the one I was in this year. I will simply concentrate on my job of trying to deliver good results.”

Nico Hulkenberg has shown on two occasions that he can battle at the sharp end of the order, firstly with Williams in 2010 and recently with Force India at the Brazilian Grand Prix. With Sauber clinching several podium finishes throughout the 2012 season, expect Nico Hulkenberg to become a regular figure on the rostrum in the coming years.

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