Nico Hulkenberg Q&A: British Grand Prix
July 5, 2023Nico previews the upcoming British Grand Prix, as F1 returns to Silverstone for Round 11 of the 2023 season.
Round 11 of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship brings a lot of the team back home for the British Grand Prix. Some of our team might be biased, but you can’t talk about racing in the UK without mentioning the fans – what feelings does Silverstone evoke for you?
“Silverstone is great, the fans are very knowledgeable and they’re really into F1. I feel a lot of love and support there. The track is also fantastic – it has some of the greatest corners on the calendar which I really like and it’s super high-speed. I’ve got good memories from racing there in the past so I’m looking forward to gearing up and getting on track.”
Silverstone Circuit is a driver’s type of race track – fast, flowing, and full of character. With the track being only 15 miles away from the team’s UK base, do you feel that close connection when entering race week?
“I think the characteristics of the track describe our team pretty well – spicy, quick, dynamic! We obviously have quite a few members of the team from the UK, and our Banbury base is super close, which always helps with activities and events we have going on either side of the race. I’ve been with the team for over half a year now and think I’ve settled in well. Everyone has been very open from the beginning, and we enjoy working together.”
Following the British Grand Prix, MoneyGram Haas F1 Team will be participating in the Pirelli Tire Test. How valuable to a team like Haas is additional running, and what are you looking to get out of your time on track?
“We’re there to test tires for the future, whether that’s compounds or tire constructions so it’s very important actually to know what’s coming up in the future for car development and when designing the car. It’s extra track time, which is always valuable now as it’s very limited this season with Sprints and almost no pre-season testing, so I’m looking forward to sharing the day with Kev.”