10/10/2020
NEWS STORY
Nico Hulkenberg will drive for Racing Point in this weekend's Eifel Grand Prix after Lance Stroll was taken unwell.
Stroll did not feel 100% this morning and the team took the decision not to run him for the rest of the event.
Hulkenberg, who previously deputised for Sergio Perez at the Silverstone events, is familiar with the car and team already, and fortunately was in nearby Cologne.
"I got the call from Otmar at 11am," said the German. "I was sitting with a friend having a coffee! I then ran to the car and got here as quickly as I could! I did the required COVID testing and I probably had around 40 minutes with the engineers before jumping into the car for qualifying.
I know the track, but it's been a while since Formula 1 has raced here," he admitted, "and the RP20 has evolved a lot since I drove it at Silverstone too."
While a pre-race issue meant Hulkenberg was unable to start the British Grand Prix, a week later he finished 7th in the Anniversary race.
Linked with Haas, a strong performance this weekend might be enough for the American team to recruit the German who last had a regular drive in 2018 before being dropped in favour of Daniel Ricciardo.
Check out our Saturday gallery from the Nurburgring, here.