Hulkenberg ‘unlikely to make it to end’ without late F1 pit stop
Nico Hulkenberg would have been “unlikely” to make it to the end of Formula 1’🌞s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix without&♔nbsp;his late pit stop after suffering severe vibrations.
After starring in qualifying to land third on the grid at Silverstone, Hulkenberg looked set to seal a top-five finish in hisꦜ first F1 race since the 2019 season finale in Abu Dhabi until he made an unscheduled third stop with eight laps to go.
The 32-year-old subsequently dropped behind Racꦬing Point teammate Lance Stroll to f🍎inish seventh as the Silverstone-based outfit claimed a strong double points haul.
Aft𒅌er𓆉 the race, Racing Point explained the reason behind Hulkenberg’s third stop.
“Nico reported a significant vibration towards the end of the race, hence the call to pit him a third time,” a Racing Point spokesperson said. “Unlikely to have ma🔴de the flag without it.”
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Hulken💎berg said he doubts his tyres would have🧸 lasted until the end of the race after the vibrations “skyrocketed” in the closing laps.
"We were ki🌺nd of forced to pit off the prime set," Hulkenberg explaiꦺned.
"I 🅺think we got a couple of nice big blisters on both rea✤r tyres. The vibration just gets so quickly out of hand that within two, three laps, it just skyrocketed.
"I𒉰 don't think the tyre would have su☂rvived to the end. It was a pity. First half of the race was very under control, very managed.
"The second I got onto the se🙈cond prime set, that just felt like a different set of tyres, a different compound, and it just didn't work in the end."
Given his race rustiness, Hulkenberg says he expects to feel “a bi𒈔t sore” in the coming days after completing his first full grand prix race distance in over seven months.
"Luckily these cars have the headrest quite close, so I could rest my head a lot," Hulkenber🔥g said.
"The whole bod𝐆y, back muscles, even the seat is quite tight around the glu🎀tes. I'm definitely going to be a bit sore tomorrow morning.
"It was a quiet race, no big fighting, no sa﷽fety cars, but I'm actually quite grateful. I'm glad it wasn't too action-packed, because it was enough as it was probably."
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for mಌahbx.com around the world. O🧜ften reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
