Hulkenberg

[zmiles2]

I cannot believe that he has lost his seat at Williams.
I just read the Bleacher Report article and I'm in shock. Is there any reason to elt Hulkenberg go? He has shown great pace nearly all year, has scored some points, and to me he has dominates all the other rookies.
The money issue is a big deal coming from Pastor Maldonado, but Hulkenberg is a damn good driver and I think he has an awesome future at a stable, competitive team like Williams.
What do you all think?

[PlatinumZealot]

He's not all that special. They say Formula 1 is not a nursery school; to be racing for a top team you have to be fast and consistent right out of the box. Hulkenburg is above average as rookie I would say, but he is nowhere near say, a Koboyashi who has shown to be more consistent if not as fast and has scored more points in a worse car. In my opinion he is definitely not the man money product that Williams is looking for right now.

[Giblet]

He also had some moments where he looked like a rank amateur. Not an F1 amateur, but a racing amatuer. Cutting chicanes over and over and over driving the car was his signature.

[Sean H]

Money makes the world go around.

[zmiles2]

I agree with you guys, yes its not a nursery school, I just dont see the reason in getting rid of a productive, talented rookie for another rookie.
IMO, Hulkenburg has nowhere to go but up. Wouldnt mind seeing him at Force India after they finally get rid of Liuzzi

[ecapox]

If he doesnt land another seat somewhere else, i will be terribly sad for him. He is good.

I think it is more important to bring 15m to the team and suck than bring 2m and be good. Sad but true.

[jon-mullen]

I for one think this idea of rookie drivers as "finished products" is ridiculous. There's a learning curve to everything in life, and to put pressure on your driver to perform instead of learn is to shorten their career and hurt your own driver development program.

I think a balance sheet at the end of next year will show that keeping Hulk would've netted more money than a one-time payout. Look at how much Petrov has cost Renault.

[marcush.]

the cruel truth is :will Hulk have bagged enough points to judge him as a budgetcontributor next year?
I think he has delivered in terms of a rookie but next year he needs to skin Barrichello and put him firmly into retirement .Maybe williams has doubts here .They will not carry on like TR does retaining their drivers even when no real development is visible at times.
Williams could as well keep him as a reserve driver and reintroduce him in case of need.

[donskar]

I agree with you guys, yes its not a nursery school, I just dont see the reason in getting rid of a productive, talented rookie for another rookie.
IMO, Hulkenburg has nowhere to go but up. Wouldnt mind seeing him at Force India after they finally get rid of Liuzzi

You seem to miss the point. They are NOT "getting rid of a productive, talented rookie for another rookie." They are replacing a rookie with a lot of money with a rookie with a lot MORE money. It's a biz, zmiles2.

[WhiteBlue]

The Hulk brings no money to Williams but got his drive on the back of race wins and championships in feeder series. Maldonado is old and has tons of sponsor money. He ran GP2 for four years before he got anywhere in that championship. A switch would clearly be a commercial decision and not a question of talent.

[zmiles2]

I understand this whole money issue, but i guess i'm just lookin at it from a spectator's view, thats why i keep referring back to Hulk beeing a good driver.

[rfs]

He's not all that special. They say Formula 1 is not a nursery school; to be racing for a top team you have to be fast and consistent right out of the box. Hulkenburg is above average as rookie I would say, but he is nowhere near say, a Koboyashi who has shown to be more consistent if not as fast and has scored more points in a worse car. In my opinion he is definitely not the man money product that Williams is looking for right now.

I think if testing wasn't banned Hulkenberg would look much more impressive. IMO Kobayashi is doing better than the other rookies because he was a Toyota test driver in 2008. Until testing is brought back rookies will continue to struggle more than they have to.

[lolzi]

He's not all that special. They say Formula 1 is not a nursery school; to be racing for a top team you have to be fast and consistent right out of the box. Hulkenburg is above average as rookie I would say, but he is nowhere near say, a Koboyashi who has shown to be more consistent if not as fast and has scored more points in a worse car. In my opinion he is definitely not the man money product that Williams is looking for right now.

I think if testing wasn't banned Hulkenberg would look much more impressive. IMO Kobayashi is doing better than the other rookies because he was a Toyota test driver in 2008. Until testing is brought back rookies will continue to struggle more than they have to.

Hülkenberg was test driver for Williams in '08 and '09.

[rfs]

Oh, well my mistake.

But I still think testing should come back.

[Giblet]

I think as the budgets come down with the resource restrictions, we'll see young Hulk back in the game.