Nico Hulkenberg described the Korean Grand Prix as one of the best races of his career after finishing a sensational fourth. The German held off the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to equal his best result in Formula One, taking Sauber ahead of Toro Rosso in the Constructors Championship in the process, and admitted the traction of the C32 was crucial in keeping them behind.
“Today I drove one of the best races in my career so far. I have had cars in the mirrors before, but today there were a lot and it was a bit annoying. Lewis really put the pressure on at the end, especially in the last sector. I knew I needed to get out of turn one well. The car’s traction was very good today, so that kept me alive against Fernando and then Lewis later on. We were also very fast on the straight. I had a good start, although on the outside into turn one, which was a loss at first, but then I had a real good slip stream and was able to get past on the outside. A big thank you to the entire team for providing such an excellent car today”.
Teammate Esteban Gutierrez came agonisingly close to his first Formula One point, finishing 0.8s behind Sergio Perez in eleventh, but the Mexican rookie was pleased with his performance and is hopeful that the top ten result will soon come.
“I had a very good start, then I arrived at turn three and saw what was going on. I tried to protect my position, my rears locked and that’s why I lost a couple of positions. To recover from that was quite a challenge. I had some good fights with Massa and Checo coming from the back. Of course, I wanted to score points today, but this is racing. It’s a great experience and will help me to improve my race craft. We had good pace today and are definitely able to fight in the top ten.”
