Drivers’ Market: Will There be a Hulk Comeback in 2021? Perez Saying “Goodbye”?
Just like this year, 10 teams will be placing their 20 Formula One cars on the grid for each of the 23 planned (so far) 2021 Grand Prix weekends. With less than three months until the first winter testing, some of the racing world’s famous stars are yet to confirm another entry in the sport – two of them being Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Their apparent ties to the Racing Point team makes the situation just a little bit more complicated, as the future Aston Martin constructor has already declared its competitors for 2021, namely Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll. So, let’s get right into some of the likely options for these two.
Nico Hulkenberg (GER)
Oddly enough, the Formula One world is yet to see a complete season without Nico Hulkenberg’s participation since 2010. As many of you know, Nico previously concluded his career with his departure from Renault in 2019. Throughout his decade-long Formula One run, Nico managed to score just 1 pole position and not a single podium, placing the record for most races without ever getting into top 3 (currently 179 Grands Prix). Nevertheless, 2020’s challenges have so far brought in Hulkenberg twice to a Grand Prix participation – 70th Anniversary GP and the 2020 Eifel GP. The German was asked to replace each of the current Racing Point drivers for a weekend due to Covid-19 health issues. And he did it, and did it well. Hulkenberg finished in P7 and P8, including a 3rd qualifying place at the Silverstone. His readiness and performance must have surely impressed someone who would be willing to give him a second chance?
Let’s get the obvious out of the way… Red Bull would be a great place for Nico (and pretty much everyone else). Currently, Max Verstappen does not know his 2021 team rival, which is a bit surprising coming from one of the decade’s top teams. Despite his maiden podium earlier this season, Alex Albon’s performance has not been all that impressive. For example, his last 5 Grand Prix results are as follows: P10, Retired, P12, P15, P7. Although Verstappen is clearly Red Bull’s star of the show, the Dutch also seems to favor Nico Hulkenberg as a future teammate. With that, Max recognizes the challenge in Hulkenberg, which should be seen as a great honor, coming from one of Formula One’s current top drivers.
But what if Dr. Helmut Marko wants to give Albon yet another chance to prove himself? Well, then Hulkenberg’s next best option would be partnering with Pierre Gasly in AlphaTauri, which would be a much better choice than filling one of the empty seats at Haas. Hulkenberg would only come back in pursuit of big achievements, such as podiums and race victories. It just would not make sense for him to spend the (potentially) second half of his career in mediocre teams. Unless, of course, he plans on staying there for just a season or two, until another big team seat opens. For those of you who support the Hulk, you have plenty of reasons to think that you would be seeing him race again very soon.
Sergio Perez (MEX)
Several Months ago, Sergio Perez literally lost his 2021 ride with Aston Martin (Racing Point) to four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. Even with a contract in place, the young Mexican seemed to have virtually no chance against the Ferrari star. As disappointing this might seem, these are the facts and the idea of “moving on” with life is probably the best thing Perez could do.
Recently, there have been some rumors that Sergio is planning to take a sabbatical from Formula One, which is not such an odd step for a young racing driver. However, just like it always happens with rumors, this idea turned out to be rather false. Here is what Perez commented when asked about this, “I think once you go out, you might never come back so if I take a sabbatical I would rather retire first than take the sabbatical”. And just like Hulkenberg, it does not seem like he would want to stay in Formula One with a mediocre team, “I want to carry on in Formula 1 but it has to be the right package, a package that gives me the maximum motivation to give 100% every single lap”.
Similarly to Nico, Checo Perez still does have a chance to partner either Max Verstappen or Pierre Gasly in 2021. The problem is that with each and every day this opportunity seems to be getting smaller and smaller. So, should we think that Perez’ retirement is approaching? Potentially yes. Here is what the Mexican said about that, “I will take the time that I require and if I don’t find anything attractive in F1, I will think about other series, other things. We will see”.
Professional drivers race because this is what makes them happy. As bold as this may sound, happiness exists in other racing series, too. Hence, if Checo’s calling is pointing him to a different direction, then it would be only a matter of time to see him challenge rivals in either IndyCar, Endurance Championship, or even Formula E.
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