During the F1 ‘Silly Season’ there are multiple rumors of transfers within the paddock that keep arising. Recently, several rumors have linked Nico Hulkenberg, who has been connected to Red Bull as of late, to Aston Martin, a team seemingly on the ascendency. Fernando Alonso‘s contract with the team expires in 2024, and the Silverstone-based outfit could be eyeing Hulkenberg to partner up with Stroll.
Currently, the sport is in the midst of a three-week summer break. Every season, during this stoppage of proceedings in the summer, several speculations and rumors start connecting drivers and other personnel to rival teams. Often these rumors result in something concrete, which leads to a major reshuffling of the grid. For instance, in 2022 we saw how Fernando Alonso’s move to Aston Martin shook the entire grid up.
Now, Hulkenberg is being tipped to join Aston Martin as Alonso’s replacement. The claims linking Hulkenberg to a Red Bull seat have grown recently. This comes after F1 reporter Natalie Pinkham saw the German driver pay a visit to Red Bull during the race weekend in Spa-Francorchamps last month.
Hulkenberg set to replace Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin?
Hulkenberg’s name was all over the internet when Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko praised his performances earlier this year. This was particularly aimed at his qualifying performances, which brought their current driver Sergio Perez’s recent struggles in the department to light.
However, despite those links, former F1 driver Timo Glock (as per RaceExpress.nl) claims that Hulkenberg’s first choice won’t be Red Bull. Instead, his former team Aston Martin is interested in securing his services from 2025 onwards. Alonso’s contract expires at the end of the 2024 season. Plus, with Lance Stroll’s place in the team secure for the near future, 2025 could see the Canadian become the team’s number-one driver.
Admittedly, Hulkenberg’s 2023 season has been incredibly strong, wherein he put his car on the front row at the Canadian GP. Additionally, he has also outperformed his Danish teammate Kevin Magnussen. Hence, his being linked to Red Bull and drawing praise from Marko shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Marko and Red Bull full of praise for Hulkenberg
Hulkenberg was last a full-time F1 driver back in 2019. Since then, he spent three seasons in a reserve role at Racing Point, which later became Aston Martin. In fact, the 35-year-old filled in for Sebastian Vettel in the opening two races of the 2022 season when the four-time world champion was out with Covid.
This year, following Mick Schumacher’s departure from Haas, Guenther Steiner called him to the Kannapolis-based outfit. Although several people expected him to fail, he has proved his critics wrong, and is already generating interest from bigger teams.
Marko praised Hulkenberg’s qualifying pace a lot, and admitted that if it was combined with Perez’s racecraft, they would have a handy driver at Red Bull. Whether Hulkenberg gets a big break at this stage in his career or not, however, is yet to be seen.
