Hulkenberg in favour of Austria kerbs despite wing damage

  • Published on 29 Jun 2019 09:26
  • comments 0
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Nico Hulkenberg is in favour of retaining the kerbs around the Red Bull Ring despite the issues they caused him and other drivers on Friday.

During FP1, Hulkenberg ran wide at the penultimate corner and ran over a kerb, which sliced off the left side of his front wing.

A number of other teams also had problems with the unforgiving kerbs, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner claiming they cost the energy drink squad £250,000 in damages on Friday (prior to Max Verstappen's crash).

MOREHulkenberg: Dirty air 'as bad as it's ever been' | Renault exploring options outside Hulkenberg for 2020

But Hulkenberg believes the added challenge is good for everyone and is in favour of keeping the kerbs for the remainder of the weekend.

"It was just a mistake on my side, just running a bit too fast into the corner, running wide," the Renault driver said. "At high speed, these kerbs do a lot of damage. 

"But that's the track limit. We have to stay within those limits and obey them. I made a mistake and paid the price, that's how it should be.

"The car damage from the kerbs is a bit extreme, but for this weekend, there's nothing we can do."

Renault didn't find 'a good balance'

Aside from kerb damage, Renault's Friday was tough as it finished the second free practice session in 16th and 17th.

Hulkenberg claims the team simply lacked a strong balance and had its long-run programme compromised as it worked harder on making improvements over one lap.

"We didn't really find a good balance," he commented. "It's a short circuit, not too many corners but Spielberg has its own laws and rules. It's a tricky track, very technical.

"The main struggle was with the balance and then hard to find a good rhythm, you can see that on the timesheet. 

"The red flags took some time away but today was a bit of a special day because we were lacing some low-speed performance, so we elected to do another low fuel run which compromised our high fuel running."

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Country Germany
  • Date of b. Aug 19 1987 (36)
  • Place of b. Emmerich am Rhein, Germany
  • Weight 70 kg
  • Length 1.84 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar