Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsForce India

Hulkenberg one of the best in the world - Mallya

Force India team principal Vijay Mallya says Nico Hulkenberg has developed in to one of the best drivers in the world.

Hulkenberg has signed a new two-year contract at Force India which will keep him with the team until the end of 2017. With the German having driven for Force India across two spells so far, Mallya says he has seen the improvements which make the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours winner one of the best on the grid.

“I make no secret of being one of Nico’s biggest fans and so it’s fantastic to confirm him as our driver for the next couple of seasons," Mallya said. "He has spent almost four years with us already and in that time we’ve seen him develop into one of the best racing drivers in the world.

"Nico has the speed, the technical knowledge and the maturity to help us achieve some great results in the years ahead. We will do everything we can to continue delivering a car to match his talent.”

Hulkenberg had been linked with moves to Ferrari and Haas for 2016, but will now take his second stay at Force India in to a third year. He boasts a best finish with the team of fourth in the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix, and last year finished ninth in the drivers' championship after scoring points in all but four races.

Hulkenberg stays with Force India until 2017

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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.