Hulkenberg heads to Singapore on brink of unwanted record

©Renault

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Renault's Nico Hulkenberg will make his 129th Grand Prix start next week in the Singapore Grand Prix.

Despite making his Formula 1 start with Williams in 2010, the 30-year-old German has never stood on the podium. His best finish has been fourth, which he's managed on three occasions - Belgium in 2012 and 2016, and Korea in 2013.

As a result, he currently shares the record for most races entered without a podium with Adrian Sutil. But if he doesn't finish in the top three next weekend, Hulkenberg will own the record outright.

Naturally the 2015 Le Mans winner was shrugging aside any such concerns heading to Singapore. He's focussing on the business of getting some much needed points for Renault, who are currently eighth in the constructors championship.

"I’m looking forward to it as we should be more competitive," he said this week after missing out on the top ten in Monza.

"Italy was a difficult weekend for us as a team," he admitted. "It’s disappointing not to come away with points. I got stuck in traffic in the race and couldn’t do too much.

"I’m going to get it off the mind as soon as possible," he added. "Onwards and upwards!"

Next weekend's night race at the Manila Bay Street Circuit is one of the hardest of the season, largely thanks to the conditions.

"As a track, it’s really tough and physically demanding – arguably one of the hardest of the season," he said. "The lap is long with lots of corners and some tight and sharp bits.

"The high temperature and humidity, combined with the fact that it’s a street circuit, makes it quite hard. It’s important to be in top physical shape due to the harsh requirements.

"Safety cars usually come out which makes strategy hard to call," he pointed out.

"It’s a very special Grand Prix and the only real night race we have," he continued. "We don’t really see the day there!

"We sleep until lunchtime, and then it’s off to work. There isn’t much of a social life for us drivers.

"It takes a little getting used to, but it’s not so bad. It’s been on the calendar so long that it feels like a normal race."

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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.