Allard Kalff throws shade at Nico Hülkenberg. According to the VIaplay man, his appointment signals a lack of ambition from Haas F1.
There have been some interesting transfers this year in Formula 1. Alonso is leaving Alpine for Aston Martin. Piastri is not going to Alpine, but to McLaren. Gasly will then go to Alpine and leave his spot at Alpha Tauri to Nyck de Vries. But also a striking switch is the one that takes place at Haas F1. Schumacher is replaced there by Nico Hülkenberg after two years.
That is quite remarkable. Schumacher is 23 and was just starting to get into it. More and more often he was close to or even ahead of Magnussen in terms of pace. Hülkenberg, on the other hand, is now 35. In itself, you are still in the prime of your life, but as a top athlete, you are usually closer to the end than to the beginning. In addition, Hulkenberg has only driven four F1 races in the past three seasons, having lost his permanent seat at Renault at the end of 2019.
The story goes that Nico managed to impress team boss Günther Steiner with a few good conversations. At the same time, the same Steiner was a bit tired of Schumacher often taking damage. That is painful for any team, but especially for a team like Haas F1. After all, such a written-off car quickly costs a lot of money.
The fact that Schumacher is being dumped unceremoniously is big news, especially in Germany. The Hulk feels no remorse. He says he has hardly any contact with Schumacher and that if he had not taken the seat, someone else probably would have. It is known that Haas F1 was also looking for the services of Ricciardo, but he chose a different role at Red Bull Racing. Perhaps also because Ricciardo’s nickname Hulkenback likes it so much. What really killed Schumacher is probably that Ferrari has lost confidence in the German. From that moment on, his seat at Haas F1 was also in doubt. A few weeks later, there was the first rumor that Hülkenberg would replace him.
Allard Kalff nevertheless believes that the appointment of the Hulk is a sign of weakness. In conversation with Motorsport.com, Kalff mentions that he would have preferred Haas F1 to go for a talent from F2. With Hülkenberg, he says, the American team is bringing in someone who has proven ‘not to be fast enough’ and ‘not able to handle the pressure’. As far as he is concerned, the contract signals a ‘lack of ambition’. ouch…
Now it’s true that in 180 attempts the Hulk never got to a podium. Many times he came close, especially when the weather was raining, but it always went wrong. So that doesn’t bode well. On the other hand, veteran Magnussen scored the most points for the team last season. Usually if you don’t have the best car in the field, a set’safe hands‘ who brings the car home and collects dots, perhaps the way to go. What do you think of Hulkenberg’s return? Smart move by Günther, or mental poverty? Let us know in the comments!
This article Allard Kalff throws shade at Nico Hülkenberg appeared first on Autoblog.nl.
#Allard #Kalff #throws #shade #Nico #Hülkenberg