Winning the GP2 championship in 2009 aside, Nico's best achievements to date are a pole position, a 5th in Valencia and as recently as a 4th in Belgium. But how do you think he's doing?
I think he's been very lucky. He's the one driver who always gets a good position after a crash and somehow is never involved in it. His best results have come by others being forced out of the race. Other than that, he's had very average results. I still think he, and his team mate, are very overrated.
I honestly think he is a better driver than Di Resta. He was behind at the start of the season while he got to grips with the car but now he is out doing his team mate. I think he is a lot higher rated than most think. GP2 and A1 champion dont forget
I'm liking Hulk, it seems he is getting to grips with the new tyres now since Paul did have an advantage earlier on by using them last season. Hulk's a good driver he just needs some stability to keep on developing at this rate. I would like to see him and Lewis at Mercedes to give the kick up the backside the Silverarrows need as Rosberg has just gone quiet and Schumacher just looks like he is going to bow out for good now.
He's doing better than I expected. I wasn't expecting di Resta to be world class but he looked like he could be a solid mid field driver for a few years to come. Hulks definitely got the upper hand now and looks like he has a real chance of sticking around for a while.
There isn't a driver on the grid who hasn't benefited from other drivers crashing at some point. Plus, Hulkenburg has had his bad luck too. In 2010 he was taken out by Kobayashi in Aus, suffered front wing failure in Monaco and was taken out by Petrov in Japan. This year, apart from a coming together with Webber and Vergne on the first lap of Australia, he's stayed out of trouble so I assume that you are just referring to this year.
I agree with Bando and Silver, especially the bit about needing stability to develop. Last Sunday, his move on Schumi, which was overshadowed by Kimi's a lap or two earlier, was really special and is surely evidence of how good he is. He's had mixed results so far this season but the Force India car has been slow to develop this year.
He's impressed me this season and he is taking advantage of Force India's continuing development. Certainly makes Mercedes' expected decision between him and di Resta somewhat more difficult.
I think he's doing a good job, a slow start but that was to be expected after being out for a season. I'm glad to see him back and doing well purely because of the circumstances in which he left the sport. I'd love to see him finish above Maldonado! :]
Solid driver, FI were very good around Spa, but that is no excuse, he is much better than Di Resta and is lining up a seat if Michael leaves. To the people that said he got lucky: every driver loses out at times, and some drivers gain positions because of that, it is F1.
I thought his drive in Spa was very good and whilst I am not aware of any difference in set up to Di Resta (who seemed very slow down the straights) he comfortably outperformed him! Its difficult to understand how good his driving has been because the FI seems both inconsistnet and generally lacking pace. Di Resta hasnt been great this year (compared to last) and its difficult to tell whether thats down to the car, his ability or the fact that his signiture is on another contract for next season.
I know di Resta had a KERS problem at Spa and that contributed to the difference between the drivers, but Hulkenberg still drove a really good race. I genuinely think he's better than di Resta, who in my opinion is over-rated. With the Force India usually going well at Monza it's important Hulk scores some good points again this weekend.
I'd like to add that he's almost made me forget that in order to get the seat this season Force India had to sack Sutil, who I thought had been doing a good job.
Hulkenburg is doing a fine job. Just like Sutil last year, he's making Di Resta look overrated and seems likely that once again, Di Resta will end the season with less points than his teammate. Hulkenburg's drive at Spa was exceptional. He finished nearly 40 seconds ahead of his teammate in a 44 lap race. Even without the KERS problem Di Resta had no chance of getting anywhere near his teammmate. If Mercedes are looking to sign for a new driver I couldn't think of anyone more deserving than Hulkenburg. It would be a real injustice if Di Resta was in a more competitive car than Hulkenburg next year.
Hulk is possibly the most bizzare and infuriating driver on the grid. For some reason, he always starts a season slowly, it's like he can't be bothered until about 10 races in, then he decides to show his stuff. Did it when he won the GP2 title too. There's no questioning his ability, he's a better driver than Di Resta (i got laughed at for saying that earlier this season, apologies will be accepted however). I'm suprised Ferrari haven't considered him as a serious option, i don't see Vettel going there until Alonso retires.
Personally I think he's doing really well, started out slowly just like in 2010 but is now prospering and outperforming the vastly overrated Di Resta. The two seem like similar drivers yet the guys on the beeb always seem to suggest that Paul is too good for Force India and should drive for a bigger team which IMO is tosh
He's done better than i expected but i still believe he is overrated. He was the big winner from the crash on sunday. Without it if he had ended up 9th or 10th would this thread have been posted?
