Nico Hulkenberg’s experience during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was overshadowed by frustration and disappointment following a series of missteps that cost him a valuable points finish.
As the race unfolded, the dramatic crash between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez on the penultimate lap not only captured headlines but also significantly impacted the Haas driver’s performance, leading to a cascade of errors that marred his race.
First, Hulkenberg had been given a team order to move past teammate Bearman after maintaining a fast pace on medium tires during the first stint on Sunday. Later in the race, he split the Williams pair that had started ahead and was in 10th place thanks to his impressive tyre management on the hards.
However, on lap 48 the German made contact with the wall at Turn 15 that resulted to a puncture which Haas was unaware of, and while being confused about his engine mode due to loss of pace at the time, Colapinto was able to get past.
Hulkenberg’s frustrations were later compounded by another critical error during the final laps. This was after tension escalated dramatically as Sainz and Perez fought for position and on lap 50, the Spaniard managed to overtake the Mexican after a slip-up while attempting to pass Charles Leclerc.
However, the maneuver put Sainz in a precarious position as he exited Turn 2 which allowed Perez to close in and the two cars collided as they approached Turn 3, resulting in a heavy crash that left both cars heavily damaged bringing the race to a standstill.
The stewards later deemed the crash a racing incident, concluding that neither driver was predominantly at fault.
In the aftermath of this incident, Nico Hulkenberg found himself in a tricky situation. As the race resumed under Virtual Safety Car conditions rather than a full Safety Car deployment—much to his surprise—faced confusion on track.
The decision not to halt the race entirely left debris scattered across the circuit, creating what he described as a “war zone” with the chaotic environment turning out to be detrimental to his performance as he struggled to navigate through the wreckage.
Hulkenberg later lost positions to both Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and his Haas teammate Ollie Bearman when racing resumed after he failed to react in time to a green flag marker board just past the incident scene.
The Haas driver expressed his disbelief at how quickly things turned against him after what he had anticipated would be a strong finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“It was all going actually pretty good,” the 37-year old told the official F1 channel. “Better than expected, to be honest.
“I managed to find rhythm and some pace today in the race, which I’m very happy and pleased about and proud.
“But then unfortunately, in the last two laps, faced some issues, faced some trouble, and then with the accident at the end as well, I got caught off-guard because for me that was a straight Safety Car or even a red flag because it was real carnage down the straight.
“But then there was a green flag and I just lost positions then there and lost the result, unfortunately.”
Before the VSC took effect, Hulkenberg drove through the crash scene and believed his car might have been damaged.
“The whole track was covered and I ran over a massive – there was a lot of debris and big stuff and I hit something quite big,” he added. “I couldn’t see because I had a car right in front of me.
“I hit something and I wasn’t sure where my front wing was, to be honest. It was quite a big bang. Pretty crazy two last laps, but not in our favour.”
