Toto Wolff hints at reserve role for Nico Hulkenberg at Mercedes

Toto Wolff hints at potential reserve role for Nico Hulkenberg at Mercedes in 2021 after standing in for Sergio Perez at Racing Point last season

  • Toto Wolff believes Nico Hulkenberg would be a good fit as a reserve driver
  • The German is without an F1 team this season after losing Renault seat in 2019
  • Mercedes boss Wolff hinted that his team may consider bringing Hulkenberg in
  • Testing got underway on Friday in Bahrain ahead of the new season starting 

Nico Hulkenberg would be a good fit as a Formula One reserve driver for Mercedes and McLaren this season but nothing has been signed yet, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said on Friday.

The German, who lost his Renault seat at the end of 2019, stood in for Sergio Perez at Mercedes-powered Racing Point (now Aston Martin) last season when the Mexican tested positive for COVID-19.

Mercedes already have Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne and Dutch driver Nyck de Vries as reserves but both are competing in Formula E and the calendars overlap at certain races this season.

Toto Wolff (right) hinted Mercedes may consider signing Nico Hulkenberg as a reserve driver

The German driver stood in as at Racing post last season in the absence of Sergio Perez

The role has become particularly important during the pandemic, with Mercedes having to call on Williams driver George Russell in Bahrain last December when seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton contracted the virus.

“Nico knows the current generation of Formula One cars and the tyres, and it would be good to have him in the line-up as a solution, maybe to be shared with other teams,” Wolff told reporters as teams started testing in Bahrain.

“He’s a known quantity and well respected, so it would be good, but it’s not yet (done). We didn’t put pen to paper.”

George Russell filled in at Mercedes last season when Lewis Hamilton contracted COVID-19

McLaren have switched from Renault engines to Mercedes this season but already had a deal to share reserves with the manufacturer last year.

“We will have an agreement again with Toto, with Mercedes, to use their reserve drivers in case of an emergency and we’re happy with that,” said team principal Andreas Seidl.

Testing got underway on Friday in Bahrain, with the teams getting their first chance to run their new cars.

And Bahrain will host the first race of the season in two weeks’ time, with the traditional season opener, the Australian Grand Prix, pushed back to November.

Testing began in Bahrain on Friday ahead of the new season starting in two weeks’ time




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