Hulkenberg Admits Force India Only Chance of F1 Stay

Nico Hulkenberg revealed what all of us already knew (or at least suspected) for some time: Force India is his first and last shot at making the grid in the 2011 Formula One championship. Ever since he was ousted by Williams F1 a month ago, the German's manager Willi Weber has been in close contact with team owner Vijay Mallya for a potential deal for his client, but negotiations between the two parties are still ongoing.

Talking to F1's official website, the 23-year old German admitted that he's hopeful of a race seat with Force India, a team that is yet to officially confirm any of its current drivers for the 2011 campaign. According to a past statement from Mallya, the Silverstone based squad has one vacancy for next season, and Hulkenberg knows too well that there are a bunch of drivers aiming for that same seat.

“That's no big secret – Force India is our best shot, but it is also no secret that quite a few drivers are trying to land a seat there. We are talking to them and let's wait and see what develops,” said the former GP2 champion.

Referring to the reason why he was let go by Frank Williams in order to make room for his former GP2 teammate Pastor Maldonado – which he beat on a regular basis back when they were driving in the F1's feeder series – Hulkenberg said it is “sad” that money starts to prevail over talent in the Great Circus.

“There had been signs before that (pole position in Brazil) there was something brewing, because the team repeatedly delayed contract talks, putting it off to 'manana',” further revealed Hulkenberg, who really hoped his performance in the qualifying session at Interlagos would count a lot in Williams' decision to retain him.

“From the outside it is obviously hard to understand, but there must have been circumstances within the team that required such a step,” he concluded.