Audi driver Nico Hülkenberg in Hungary: First World Championship points before the summer break?

Whilst Gabriel Bortoleto increased his points tally to 10 World Championship points at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps by securing eighth place, veteran Nico Hülkenberg once again came away empty-handed at the tenth World Championship weekend of the year. The German Audi works driver had to settle for 13th place and was understandably keen to turn his attention to the next race once the chequered flag had fallen in Belgium.

This will take place at the Hungaroring, where the 38-year-old has already contested 13 Grand Prix races. He has only managed to score points on two occasions on the outskirts of Budapest: in 2016, driving for Force India, he crossed the finish line in tenth place; in 2010, in his debut GP season with Williams, he achieved his best Hungarian GP result to date by finishing sixth.

Ahead of this year’s race, the Emmerich-born driver said: “It’s good that we’re heading straight to Budapest. We’ve now put Spa behind us and are focusing entirely on the next round of the World Championship. We showed enough pace last race weekend to know that our potential isn’t bad. It now simply comes down to me having a trouble-free race weekend.”

“The Hungaroring is a completely different type of circuit to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, and if we manage to set up the car so that it’s within a good operating window, then we’ll be in a good position. We simply have to make sure we don’t run into the same problems again that cost us dearly last time. It’s the last race before the summer break and the aim is to achieve a good result before we head into it,” added Hülkenberg.

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