26/06/2019
NEWS STORY
Nico Hulkenberg enjoyed a solid Sunday in France for his eighth-place finish. Now, he wants to back that up in Austria in the hills of Spielberg for the first double-header of the 2019 Formula 1 season, and according to online sports betting best sites is looking good for a points finish in the Styrian mountains.
What are your thoughts on Austria?
Nico Hulkenberg: Austria is a very warm and welcoming event hosted with a nice, chilled out atmosphere. It's quite close to the German border, so there are usually a number of German fans who make the trip to come and support and that's really great to see. The circuit is quite surreal as it's in the middle of nowhere with lots of hills, empty fields and a lot of cows! It's picturesque, a nice scene for a Formula 1 race and it freshens up this busy period of racing.
How tricky is a lap of Spielberg?
NH: The lap times are so short in Austria with just nine corners to negotiate, but that doesn't mean it's an easy place to drive. It's quite the opposite. It's technical, it has elevation changes, there's a mix of medium to high-speed corners and also big kerbs to watch out for, especially the final two corners. We have some things to assess on Friday, but as ever we'll be looking to get our heads down and progress ourselves through Friday, Saturday and Sunday and target a solid result at the end.
Are you pleased with the French Grand Prix result?
NH: We can be happy with our recovery on race day, and it's always nice to be scoring points. It does highlight the importance of qualifying and therefore track position. We were stuck in traffic for a lot of the race and I had more in the tank on Sunday, which might have allowed us to be higher in the top ten. The last couple of laps were a lot of fun with some good wheel-to-wheel racing. Hopefully in Austria there will be more of that and we'll be coming out somewhere near the top end of the midfield!
Daniel Ricciardo's seventh-place finish in France was taken away from him after the flag. But the Australian, a potential points winner in Austria for fans of sport betting, won't let that get him down as he heads for Austria aiming for an immediate response at a short, but intense Spielberg circuit.
What's there to say about the Austrian Grand Prix?
Daniel Ricciardo: On a map, Spielberg looks a short lap but it's actually incredibly hectic. While it is short, there are some challenging corners and lots to get right. The middle and last sectors, in particular, are really fast. The final two corners are a lot of fun, especially in these current cars there's little room for error. The race is usually quite full on too and concentration has to be high. You can't afford to make errors on a lap in Spielberg as even a small mistake costs a huge chunk of your lap time as it's all very close. I'm also looking forward to tucking in to one of my favourite dishes of the year too, Wiener Schnitzel. Bon appetit!
How do you feel post-French Grand Prix?
DR: Firstly, it was great to experience the team's home race. There was a lot to do away from the car and a lot of people to meet, but on a whole it was fun. I think our seventh-place finish at the flag was a fair result in terms of pace. The team deserved double points, that's for sure. It's clearly disappointing to lose six points, but it's racing and there are rules. It doesn't take away from the fact the battle between Lando, Kimi and Nico was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it, we'll take something away from that and move on. Austria is the next challenge and we're all determined to bounce back and score some strong points.