Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsForce India

Hulkenberg disappointed with Le Mans clash

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Nico Hulkenberg admits he is disappointed at the clash between Le Mans and the 2016 F1 calendar, but will not miss a race to defend his title.

Having been allowed to compete for Porsche this season, Hulkenberg duly won Le Mans on his first attempt. Intending to take part again next year, Hulkenberg's hopes have been hit by the revised 2016 F1 calendar which has scheduled the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the same weekend.

Asked if he is disappointed by the clash, Hulkenberg replied: "A little bit.

"It is something out of my hands, out of my control. We will have to go with what they decide and accept it I am afraid."

However, Hulkenberg admits he was facing a very challenging season if he is able to race at Le Mans alongside his F1 duties, saying Force India is his focus and will take priority.

"Not upset. For sure it would have been nice to go there again. Having said that it would have been a very busy year with 21 races, plus testing – it is also a big challenge. I was thinking as well, ‘is it still possible?’ [However], it is good to do both and I think I would have done it again."

With Porsche willing to wait to finalise its driver line-up in case the calendar changes again, Hulkenberg says he still hopes to be able to compete.

"There will obviously be a certain cut-off point. The calendar is there now and is out. But we know often it is out and it still gets changed a little bit afterwards. There will be a cut-off point for them as well when they have to confirm their drivers, but I think there is still some time."

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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.