Nico Hülkenberg believes it may still be tricky to follow in the 2022 Formula 1 cars despite a regulation change aimed at making it easier to be in the wake of another car.
Hülkenberg, who dropped off the full-time Formula 1 grid at the end of 2019 after losing his drive with the BWT Racing Point Formula One Team, has been in the simulator with the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team, and has experienced how it felt to drive the 2022 machine.
And although the changes made to the aerodynamics of the new car were aimed at closing up the field and making it easier to overtake, the German still believes the cars will be almost as quick as their predecessors and will likely still be tricky to follow.
However, when the cars hit the track for pre-season testing next month, Hülkenberg is hopeful that he will be ‘positively surprised’ that following other cars will be easier than before.
“They aimed to [make the cars] a bit slower, more challenging to drive, to have more focus on drivers that can make a difference rather [than] car performance and aerodynamics dominating,” said Hülkenberg on his LinkedIn page as quoted by Motorsport.com.
“From my initial experience, however, the new cars are pretty damn fast and not necessarily slower than the last generation. The driving experience hasn’t changed that much either, at least in the simulator.
“It will be very interesting to see whether these cars can really follow the car in front better. In the simulator, the cornering speeds are extremely high, so the risk of dirty air is still given and it’s difficult for me to imagine that following another car comfortably at these speeds will be easy.
“Anyhow, I hope we will [be] positively surprised. Once pre-season testing starts drivers and teams will find out how the cars really behave on-track.”
