‘Force India’s target is to finish sixth’

Force India’s German driver Nico Hulkenberg opens up about the challenges he and his team face at the 2012 Indian Grand Prix.

You started off your F1 career with Williams in 2010 and they have a good pedigree. They have been champions in the past even though they are a middle rung team now. So how was the experience racing for them?

You know the first year of Formula One is very special, always, for everyone. I have a lot of great memories with them and obviously the pole position in Brazil stands out. We had some very good weekends apart from that as well, such as Monza (Italian GP). I enjoyed working with Rubens Barrichello a lot, and he was one of the most experienced people on the grid. So I got to learn a lot from him. I had a very good relationship with all the mechanics and engineers there. But it didn’t end too well for me. They told me very late in the day that I won’t be driving for them in 2011 and that wasn’t very nice.

Can you talk about that pole position lap in Brazil in 2010, your first ever pole?

I think it was the perfect lap for the sort of conditions we had then. It had stopped raining and the track was drying up very fast, so it was a bit of dry and wet both. And the car was feeling just great in those conditions, perfect set-up and new soft (dry) tyres with optimum pressure in them, which is very crucial on a partly dry-partly wet circuit. So when they put on the slicks, I was very aggressive, trying to get as much heat into the tyres as possible. And my lap times kept improving as I got more and more heat into them. It is quite tricky to get the braking point right in those conditions and also to stay on the dry line, but that was the perfect lap and it was quite sensational in the end, yeah! It was an emotional moment for me, my first ever pole position.

There is a lack of testing in Formula One. In that light how important was getting a reserve driver role at Force India in 2011 and keeping busy during Friday practice sessions?

Very important, because without that Friday running I wouldn’t be the driver I am now. If one of the two drivers were not able to race for whatever reasons, I would have been able to straight away jump into the car and drive, and perform at the top of my level. That stint at Force India kept me sharp, kept me going, and I learnt how to use DRS and KERS. Honestly if I hadn’t done those sessions, I would be totally a different driver now. And then you can lose your Formula One status very quickly, so yes I am thankful for these sessions that have kept me in the game. (He subsequently won a Force India race seat for the 2012 season, replacing Adrian Sutil.)

Nico Hulkenberg has been good for Force India this season. AP

How different is driving in Formula One than in junior Formulae? How different is your preparation and concentration?

Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport and it is very special to be part of this racing series. Of course it is the quite a challenge and difficult to get set in here. But then you have the junior Formulae, Formula BMW, Formula Renault, you name the series. These racing series prepare you for the challenges ahead, for Formula One if you get there eventually. I had some mega seasons in Formula Three and GP2 as well which prepared me and taught me lot of stuff that ultimately brought me to F1.

There are quite a few German drivers in Formula One at the moment. Top of the ladder are Michael Schumacher, who is an all time great, and Sebastian Vettel, a double world champion. So what sort of impact are you looking to make in F1?

I have just done one year of racing in Formula One so the main aim is to establish myself here over the next three to four years. I hope I can do many more years in F1 than that because I love this sport. I love the way people work here, very professional and driving these cars is a very big privilege. So I just want to stay here and in terms of what I want to achieve, of course I want to be successful. I want to win races but that is for the long term, to be realistic.

Did sitting out a year from active racing make you hungrier for success?

The motivation to do well in Formula One has always been there. Even when I was out of the car the determination to succeed was always there. So I don’t think anything has changed there. The only difference is you cannot show it when you are not in a racing car and that was a situation that needed to be changed. And now I can show it.

This being the home race for Force India, how much pressure is on you to deliver and is the pressure different from other races?

I think pressure is always an element of F1 but we cannot really approach this weekend any differently. Target is always to score points. But two out of three owners of Force India are Indians, so obviously it is a bit more special. There is going to be a lot of Indian media and lot of local fans will be monitoring us closely. But it doesn’t change anything once we are inside the car. Pressure is always there, like I said, and we always have to try as hard as we can.

Are you happy with the mid-field position that Force India has gotten consistent with?

It was very tight and close last year as well. This time we have a lot more points than we did last year at this stage. But last season teams like Sauber and Williams weren’t so strong, they hadn’t had a win or podium finish. So from that it’s a little different. This year on a good day you are inside the top ten and on a bad day, you are just outside. It is that tight. But we are happy that we have been very consistent, especially in the last five-six races. Atleast one car has finished in points which is very good news for us. But we still have a target to finish sixth in the standings this year and that is what we are focussing on.

How tough was the Pirelli challenge this season, getting used to the tyres?

Easy (laughs) I mean they are different from last season, when I didn’t get much experience on those compounds, and they are challenging, because they have a very small operating window. Maybe it has gotten a little better now towards the end of the season as we have gotten used to working with them. But every Formula One season has its own challenges and tyres are one of them. Yes we have to find their sweet spot, but this year the team always had a good understanding of the tyres and that is also why we have been quite consistent.

How do you compare the traditional European circuits and modern ones such as the Buddh International Circuit? Which ones do you prefer to race on?

I can tell you that after I have raced at the BIC. So can’t comment before that. But I think both parts of the world have good circuits really. As a mixture what Formula One has at the moment is pretty good I would say.

It is said that the first person to beat in F1 is your team-mate. And you are leading Paul di Resta by one point. How is the rivalry between you two?

I think it is okay (laughs). It is important that we work together to push the team forward but we have a very healthy relationship and strive to achieve success. We both try very hard and the result is that it is very, very close between us.

We see a lot of paid drivers on the grid nowadays. Do you think that is good for Formula One going forward?

In the history of Formula One, there have always been pay drivers in any given season. Sometimes, it also happens that drivers who have good financial backing are also good racing drivers and they learn with time, progress and move up the order. I would rather have not so many as we do today on the grid. But F1 is an expensive sport to run and teams need the money to run the course of the season. At other times it doesn’t happen. So, it is what it is really.

There are rumours that you will be leaving Force India at the end of the season and moving to Sauber F1 for 2013.

I will not comment on speculation and rumours out there at the moment. For this weekend, again the focus is on good performance and getting points.