Hülkenberg: “No one wanted to be first in the air”

As in FIA F3 the day before in qualifying, the last part of the session F1 saw the drivers play the best position on the track in the final attempts, to benefit from the best possible slipstream on the immense straights of Monza.

To the point of seeing certain drivers slow down probably a little too much for the taste of the FIA, which notably summoned for this reason Lance stroll (RacingPoint), Carlos Sainz (McLaren) and Nico Hulkenberg.

The pilot Renault gives his point of view about this unenviable scenario. “We were all going slowly, until everyone realized there was no time to go slow anymore. It was tricky.

This is because the suction effect is so important here in the wake of the cars that no one wants to be the first to pass through the air, hence what we saw. Monza is the worst place for this, but I didn't think it was this extreme.

We always want to go as fast as possible, and for that you need aspiration. I think the gain is about half a second. We can't catch him in the corners. That's why we tried something at the end. It was strange having all the cars grouped together. »

The German, who will be replaced at Renault by Esteban Ocon in 2020, finishes the session in seventh position but could be sanctioned by the college of commissioners. Hülkenberg was also called to explain his passing off-line for no apparent reason at turn 1.