OFFICIAL: Hülkenberg replaces Pérez at Racing Point at Silverstone

It quickly became an open secret. Nico Hulkenberg will make his return Formula 1 replacing Sergio Pérez, prevented after testing positive for Coronavirus ahead of the British Grand Prix. 

To compensate for this last minute package, Racing Point turned to a veteran of the house rather than one of the two official reserves of the team Mercedes – Stoffel Vandoorne or Esteban Gutiérrez – with whom the Silverstone team had an agreement. 

Hülkenberg defended the colors of the former Force India team in 2012 then between 2014 and 2016, and occupied the role of 3rd driver in 2011. This shows that he knows perfectly well the environment into which he arrives. The German received the green light just a few minutes before the start of Free Practice 1 of the British GP.

« I was on my way to the Nürburgring to take part in another motorsport project when I received the phone call from Otmar (Szafnauer, CEO of Racing Point), Hülkenberg said. It was less than 24 hours ago, it's a bit surreal feeling but I like these kinds of challenges. The situation is necessarily complicated for Racing Point and Checo (Pérez). He's one of my friends in the paddock, a former teammate, and I wish him a speedy recovery. I will do my best to help the team ».

« It wasn't easy to find someone to replace Sergio so quickly, commented Szafnauer for his part. But Nico is a luxury substitute who knows the team very well. He finds himself thrown into the deep end but he learns quickly and I'm sure it won't be long before he gets his bearings. »

The German has 177 Grand Prix starts with his best result being 4th place at the 2012 and 2016 Belgian Grands Prix with Force India, as well as the 2013 Korean Grand Prix under Sauber colours. 

Could he finally defeat the Indian sign and achieve this first career podium that sticks to him? The Racing Point RP20 seems cut out for a fast circuit like Silverstone but it remains subject to a complaint of Renault about its legality. We're not there yet of course, but in 2020 we can expect anything.