Why Nico Hülkenberg started behind Oli Bearman

(Motorsport-Total.com) – Wow! Nico Hülkenberg lets himself be beaten by his new team-mate Oliver Bearman in the strange Baku qualifying (full session report). While Magnussen’s replacement starts the race from eleventh position, the German did not get beyond 14th place on the grid. How does the experienced Haas driver explain this?

“Baku is not my best place, not my favorite track. It has always been difficult for me,” said Hülkenberg, referring to the fact that “statistically speaking and in all the years he has been coming here” he has never really got to grips with the Baku City Circuit. “It’s the usual challenge. I think it doesn’t suit my natural driving style.”

“[Das ist] “Of course not great, I can’t be happy with 14th place,” Hülkenberg told ServusTV honestly. “It wasn’t that anything happened or there was anything else that prevented it.”

Hülkenberg seeks trust

Instead, the 37-year-old simply couldn’t improve enough in his attempt to reach the third part of the qualification. “Sector 1 and sector 3 felt OK, but in the second sector I couldn’t find the lap time and struggled a bit with the rear axle.”

“I haven’t felt completely comfortable with the car and the track all weekend, I’m lacking a bit of confidence and then it gets difficult on a track like this,” says the Haas driver, who doesn’t want to give any precise reasons why he needs the confidence, one can only guess.

“I can’t say, we’ve done a lot and tried a lot,” Hülkenberg reveals. “You just need a smooth lap with a good flow.” The Haas driver’s lap, on the other hand, was “up and down”, so that he ultimately failed to make it into Q3 and only managed 14th place.

Bearman’s performance “should not be overestimated”

And: Hülkenberg even let his new teammate Bearman outdo him! “You will always be faster than your teammate,” said the more than 200-time GP starter at Heaven. “But I wouldn’t overestimate it. I think Ollie is a street course specialist and he has proven that several times.”

According to Hülkenberg, Magnussen’s replacement was already on the ball on Friday. “He feels comfortable here, has a lot of confidence,” said the Haas driver, praising his short-term teammate, who is doing “a great job.” Nevertheless, the qualifying result is “just a snapshot.”

“Ollie has a long future ahead of him, he is just at the beginning of his career,” explains the German. “He is coming to Formula 1 and will have a long career ahead of him, there is no need to doubt whether he has the speed or not.”

Bearman: Will FP3 accident cost Q3 entry?

The accident that Bearman had in the third practice session was easy to overlook. “Of course I know how it feels. I’ve made a lot of mistakes like that,” the German recalled a similar mistake in his career. “It feels bad and it sucks. But he wiped his mouth and carried on. And he carried on where he left off yesterday.”

“It didn’t make my life easy, that’s for sure,” Bearman admits. “It definitely set me back. Not in terms of confidence, but I’m sure I’ve learned the mistake I made. [im Qualifying] made in the third training session and figured out how I could have avoided it.

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Oliver Bearman is annoyed about missing out on Q3

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Because: Bearman allowed himself to reveal a mistake in the second part of the qualification, which even cost him a better starting position! “In turn 11 [die Rechtskurve nach der engen Durchfahrt in die Altstadt] I went a bit too far, I slipped in turn 12 and lost so much time that I didn’t make it to the last part of qualifying.

“I’m a bit disappointed because I feel like I could have been in Q3 if I had had the two extra attempts on soft tires in the third practice session,” the Briton complained about his own performance in qualifying.

“I’m hard on myself because I know the car could have done better,” admits Bearman, who also started the race from eleventh position on his Formula 1 debut in Jeddah. “If I felt the car was fast enough for eleventh place, then I would be really happy right now. But the car was definitely fast enough to be in Q3, so I’m disappointed.”

Bearman optimistic: “Go hunting for points!”

Nevertheless, Bearman has his sights set on his next World Championship points, as his accident in the third practice session only affected his qualifying performance, but not the long runs that were already practiced on Friday. “The runs with high fuel consumption went very well yesterday,” said Bearman happily. “I had a lot of confidence in the car and also a good rhythm. I will also be hunting for points tomorrow.”

An announcement that does not seem presumptuous even to the competition. “We already saw with Bearman when he drove for Ferrari that he can do it,” praises Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, who does not fail to mention that Bearman is only in 15th place overall in the Formula 2 championship.

“But it also shows how different the teams are there and also, I would say, some of the engines – that’s where Bruno Michel is now.” [CEO der Formel 2 und Formel 3] “They’ll attack me again – but that’s how it is,” Marko suspects at Heaven. “These young people, in Formula 1 it’s completely different, you have to give them a chance.”

Hülkenberg hopes for chaos in the race

And his teammate Hülkenberg? The German also believes he will score points on Sunday, but he must hope for chaos. “We have to stay out of everything and then see what we can achieve. I suspect that everyone will be very close together again in terms of pace.”

“I think the tires and graining could be a big issue tomorrow,” ponders Hülkenberg, who cannot judge whether he can fight for the points without a lack of confidence in his Haas. “You have to be on the right side and then you might be able to achieve something.”