Nico Hülkenberg has distanced himself from a move back to Williams Racing for 2020 but admits talks are ongoing with Alfa Romeo Racing about moving to the Hinwil-team next season.
The German, who will leave the Renault F1 Team at the end of the current campaign after the Enstone-based outfit opted to replace him with Mercedes-Benz protégé Esteban Ocon, is currently without a drive for next season, with very few available seats remaining.
Heading into this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, Hülkenberg admits his future remains unclear but he is not in any kind of discussion with Williams about a return to the team that gave him his Formula 1 debut back in 2010.
“No. There are no discussions going on there,” said Hülkenberg to CNN Sport. “It’s a good team, obviously that’s where I started my career back in 2010 and even before that, I was a test driver there.
“But I don’t feel like I’m the right person for them right now.”
However, the thirty-two-year-old admits talks are still ongoing with Alfa Romeo about a move, with the German possibly replacing Antonio Giovinazzi who currently partners Kimi Räikkönen. Should Hülkenberg join Alfa Romeo, it would see him re-join a team he raced for under their previous guise of Sauber F1 Team back in 2013.
“Well certainly, I think that’s quite obvious that I’m talking to them,” said the German. “But we’ll see where it takes us.”
After the news broke that Hülkenberg would be leaving Renault, the German admits he has been caught out to just how slow it has been to find an answer to just where he will be racing next season.
“To be frank, I’m not sure,” said Hülkenberg. “I would have thought that things would have already moved a bit faster but here we are now in Suzuka and we don’t really have an answer yet.
“It does change the perspective slightly when you don’t have the certainty about your future. You see things a bit differently and maybe you appreciate it more. For me, the situation is what it is. I’m not uncomfortable, I have to say.
“In a way, I feel quite good and relaxed about it. I did what I could. If it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be. You can’t force things.”
Hülkenberg insists his immediate focus remains on his remaining five races with Renault and securing the best results possible with his current team, starting this weekend in Japan.
“As long as you’re active and racing, you have to be fully focused on that and committed,” said Hülkenberg, who has one-hundred and seventy-two race starts to his name. “If your mind drifts away or you let it drift away, it takes away your focus, your capacity, and you gave to be really present to live in Formula One and be 100% devoted and focused on that.
“My mind has always been here and just living life from one weekend to the next, one race to the next.”
