“It has always been my dream to work for a manufacturer team,” said Nico Hülkenberg last week, announcing his signature on a multi-year Renault deal.
“Renault has always been a big player in the motorsport world that brings up incredible memories. As a part of the Renault family I want to develop the car and write new success stories.”
The words are eerily familiar.
“The next stage of my Formula One career will be spent with Scuderia Ferrari, and for me that means the dream of a lifetime has come true,” said Sebastian Vettel in November 2014, announcing his signature on a three-year Ferrari deal.
“The Scuderia has a great tradition in this sport, and I am extremely motivated to help the team get back to the top.”
Spot the difference.
Two German drivers seeking greener pastures. Both highly rated, but both making switches after lacklustre seasons. Each of them looking to reinvigorate their careers.
Yes, Vettel is substantially more successful – Sebastian had 39 wins and four championships to his name at the time whereas Nico is yet to finish on the podium – but Hülkenberg has been highly rated as a potential winner, if not a champion, since his 2010 debut with Williams.
Like Vettel did at Red Bull Racing 2014, Hülkenberg at Force India has failed to deliver on his objective talents. Vettel was criticised in his final RBR season for lacking motivation – or perhaps for being motivated for the wrong reasons given his contract exit clause was performance-based – and Hülkenberg too appears to be suffering a lack of drive.
Vettel was accused of not being the real deal after being shown up Red Bull Racing new boy Daniel Ricciardo, but he answered is critics with three stirring victories for his new Italian team in his debut red season.
Nor is Hülkenberg a stranger to detractors who have sought to revoke his tag as an Formula One talent – but then he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Porsche on his first attempt in 2015, leading to a spike in is Formula One performances for good measure.
The respective switches to manufacturer teams was and is being heralded as nothing short of vital career tonic and indeed justice for a sport notorious for natural talent being wasted by a lack of opportunity – but in both cases there’s a catch.
Ferrari started strongly in 2015 in a team-wide performance attributed to its overhauled management structure, including Sergio Marchionne’s ousting of Luca Montezemolo as president and Maurizio Arrivabene replacing Marco Mattiacci in the team principal role.
But Formula One is never the work of a moment, and the truth of the matter is that the foundations for the 2015 results were put in place by the previous management and personnel – which goes some way to explaining the team’s wilting fortunes this season.
As explained in this column, Ferrari is already in descent. Key management have been sacked on the eve of a crucial regulatory overhaul, and the team is paralysed by a fear of failure.(Click to Tweet)
Renault’s risk to Hülkenberg are not dissimilar.
Sergio Perez’s decision not to join Renault was as much down to his desire to keep himself available in 2018 as it was due to Renault’s well-publicised management struggles.
The manufacturer, after languishing until the last possible moment on a deal to buy the ailing Lotus team at the end of last season, has all season been in disarray over strategies to nurse the Enstone squad back to health.
Confusion over who calls the shots – team principal Frédéric Vasseur or managing director Cyril Abitboul, or perhaps president Jérôme Stoll or CEO Carlos Ghosn? – allied to a confusing technical direction guided by trio Bob Bell, Nick Chester, and Rémi Taffin has left the team stagnant with just eight points in 2016.
The longer the management murkiness persists, the less optimistic the team sounds about next season – it’s hardly the sort of environment in which a talented driver down on his luck is likely to thrive.
Like Ferrari, all the pieces are in place for Renault to perform, including having the right skills in the cockpit. Like Vettel, Hülkenberg risks seeing that potential wasted by a failure of internal control.
The parallels between Nico Hülkenberg and Sebastian Vettel are compelling – but while any driver would be happy to be likened to a four-time world champion, Force India’s outgoing German will hope his career likeness to his successful countryman is limited.
Follow @MichaelLamonato on Twitter
The absolute vitriol against the Canadian that has come from the incident is beyond reprehensible.
The Long Beach Grand Prix is the Monaco of American motorsport, and this past weekend, the IndyCar Series reminded everyone exactly why. We witnessed…
New Zealand made a triumphant return to the Supercars championship calendar since the demise of the much-loved Pukekohe Park Raceway – as Taupō delivered…
Ricciardo was forced to retire after the Aston Martin driver slammed into the back of his car during a safety car restart but Stroll…
It’s time that serious questions are asked of his Lance Stroll and his future in the team.
Five-years is a long time in motorsport, let alone the general state of the world – especially given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic…
