Nico Hülkenberg is this year's teammate of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas team. Roksana Ćwik spoke to the Dane in Baku ahead of the Azerbaijan GP about a relationship with the new teammate, the chaos in Australia, the new sprint format and much more.
What do you think about the new tarmac on the main straight?
I don't know. From what I hear from the engineers, it looks like the old tarmac in terms of the roughness. But it could be very different. It's one of the things we need to check in FP1. It's going to have an influence on how you run the cars if it's a very low grip or if it's a very high grip. It's going to change slightly, so it's one of the topics for FP1.
We will have the new format beginning from Baku. What are your first thoughts about it?
I think it's good because it gives more action. You know, there's something at stake for every session except for FP1. And even FP1 is much more important as a practice than a normal weekend because it's the only one. It just puts a lot more emphasis on everything and it's a higher-pressure weekend, which I think is fun.
We have also the sprint races in MotoGP. A lot of fans are enjoying them, they are waiting for the same in F1. Will you take the risk to score more points? Like you will be P9, P8, will you take the risk, or you will just stay on the position?
I think there are certain situations where you would take more risk. There are also situations where it would be the same. I don't think it's going to change a lot. I don't think you're going to notice a big difference.
You scored the first point for the team in Saudi Arabia. The other races were not so good. Have you got any issues or problems with the car or is it just bad luck like always?
I think Melbourne was partly bad luck. I got the red flag just after I pitted and that put me in last place. And I was in a good position to score points for that race.
There was a lot of unknowns with the safety car and the red flags…
Yeah, it seems to always go against me. But, you know, these things are random. There's no such thing as bad energy or bad luck. It's just random. So eventually it's going to turn and it's going to be going my way at some point. And then we'll take it. But I think this season the car is slightly different. We have some different tools and we've been experimenting a bit in pre-practices. And then not really gaining anything from those experiences. It's not like we found something that really worked. We've gone back to a more traditional setup for qualifying and the race. But then it means you haven't run this car until you get to qualifying, so it puts me a little bit on the back foot. But hopefully now we can experiment a little less and just go into the weekend more with what we know is going to work. And especially for this week, with only one practice, it's very important.
I asked you a question in Bahrain during the test about Nico. How is it to work with him now after three races? What is your opinion about the teamwork?
It's been good. He's very, very relaxed. You know, there's a very relaxed atmosphere. It's nice to have an experienced teammate. When I'm not scoring points that he can be there. You know he's going to be on it. He's shown that I think, you know, these three races we've both been in contention for points. But maybe except for Bahrain when we were as a team a little bit off. At least in Jeddah and Melbourne, both cars were in the run for points. And that's what you need as a team.
What do you think about the chaos in Australia? Did you go to the meeting with all the drivers and talk about it? Do you feel relaxed about that now?
Yeah, I think I'm a little, I'm quite relaxed about it. It is what it is. It's a show as much as anything. At the end of the day, it's the same for everyone. None of us want to be under unnecessary risk. But I think, still the main risk is damage to the cars and extra costs related to that. I don't feel extra risk as a driver, you know, for my well-being. So, I'm okay.
Will you have any new parts in your car that are doing Baku?
Not for Baku. We have a low downforce rear wing that we haven't run yet, but it's not new as such. It's just the first time we run it.
Okay, so that’s everything. That was a short one. Thank you so much.
No worries.
