Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsForce India

Force India urges Hulkenberg not to join Haas

Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley believes Nico Hulkenberg would be making a mistake if he left the team to join Haas.

Hulkenberg has been linked with a Ferrari drive on many occasions, but with Kimi Raikkonen being retained for 2016 an immediate move has been ruled out. However, with Haas joining the grid next season and having a close technical partnership with Ferrari, driving for the American team could increase the possibility of a future switch to Maranello.

With Haas saying Hulkenberg is a driver on its shortlist for next season, Fernley told F1i he feels Hulkenberg will be better off remaining with Force India.

Asked about the Haas link, Fernley replied: “I don’t think that would happen.

“I would be surprised. Haas will do a great, great job but it’s not going to be an easy first year. Nico may be better waiting for a while, he’s better with us I think next year than with a new team.”

Fernley also confirmed talks with Hulkenberg are ongoing, adding: “Yes, I don’t think there’s any issues there. I’m sure Nico will stay with Force India.”

And Fernley said he wasn’t overly concerned about losing Hulkenberg to Ferrari while Raikkonen’s future was uncertain.

“It’s always been our intention to secure Nico and Checo [Perez] for 2016. I’m not sure the Ferrari move was such a big worry for us for Nico.”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.