F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Hulkenberg reveals reason behind late third pit stop

Racing Point's Nico Hulkenberg says severe vibrations due to tyre blistering forced him to undertake a third pit stop late in Sunday's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, ruining his chances of a top-five finish.

After launching his race from third, Hulkenberg race consistently among the top four in the first half of the race, losing a spot after his second stop when he took on another set of hard tyres.

The German appeared to be in with a chance of catching Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver relying on a bold one-stop strategy, but the state of the Racing Point's rear tyres left the team no choice but to call in its super-sub.

"We were kind of forced to pit off the prime set," Hulkenberg explained.

"I think we got a couple of nice big blisters on both rear tyres. The vibration just gets so quickly out of hand that within two, three laps, it just skyrocketed.

"I don't think the tyre would have survived to the end. It was a pity. First half of the race was very under control, very managed.

"The second I got onto the second prime set, that just felt like a different set of tyres, a different compound, and it just didn't work in the end."

After last weekend's botched British Grand Prix when a mechanical failure prevented him from joining the grid, the Hulk completed his first race distance since F1's finale in Abu Dhabi last year.

However, it wasn't a cool Sunday drive for the racing Point stand-in.

"Luckily these cars have the headrest quite close, so I could rest my head a lot," Hulkenberg said.

"The whole body, back muscles, even the seat is quite tight around the glutes. I'm definitely going to be a bit sore tomorrow morning.

"It was a quiet race, no big fighting, no safety cars, but I'm actually quite grateful. I'm glad it wasn't too action-packed, because it was enough as it was probably."

Racing Point is still waiting for clarity on Sergio Perez's situation and whether the Mexican will receive a clean bill of health to race in Barcelona next week.

So Hulkenberg will remain on standby, just in case.

"I don't know the full picture, to be honest yet," Hulkenberg told Sky F1.

"We'll find out more in the next couple of days, and as we get closer to the weekend, it will develop.

"I guess I'll be present just in case he's not able to race. I guess I'll be there to replace him again. I think it will come down to again a late decision on Thursday."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Marko: ‘No chance at all’ for Red Bull in Las Vegas

Helmut Marko believes that Red Bull and Max Verstappen are unlikely to challenge for victory…

7 hours ago

GM revives bid to join F1 with accelerated talks for 2026 entry

Automotive giant General Motors is reportedly back in the game as a potential entrant in…

9 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Thursday's action in pictures

The opening day of running at the Las Vegas GP was a smooth but chilly…

10 hours ago

Williams' headaches persist into Vegas practice

Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…

12 hours ago

Ferrari's Sainz 'not satisfied with where we are' in Vegas

It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…

13 hours ago

Norris labels McLaren long-run pace ‘shocking’ in chilly Vegas

Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…

14 hours ago