Nico Hulkenberg says it's perhaps a long shot, but if a good opportunity arises to race full-time in F1 once again, he would be up for it having been wound up by his "fun" interim with Aston Martin.
As Aston's reserve driver, Hulkenberg was called up at the eleventh hour to replace a Covid-stricken Sebastian Vettel in Bahrain.
With no preparation and with only very limited simulator experience of F1's new generation cars, Hulkenberg dealt with multiple challenges in Sakhir where he qualified P17 and finished in the same position, outpacing
The German driver remained in Vettel's seat in Saudi Arabia where he acquitted himself well once again, outpacing Aston teammate Lance Stroll to finish his race P12.
"It was a demanding race, but I am happy with my performance considering my limited experience with the car," commented Hulkenberg in Jeddah.
"We put together a clean race, but unfortunately the events and opportunities did not really go our way. We gave it everything out there, but points were out of reach.
"I am happy to have helped the team by standing in again and I will remain on standby should I be needed again."
Vettel will reclaim his seat this week in Australia, and Hulkenberg will indeed be waiting in the wings, just in case.
The super-sub realized during his short interim that his old flame for F1 was intact. But would it be strong enough for him to embark on a full-time return to the grid?
"Yes, of course, if there is a good opportunity, definitely I'm up for it," he said.
"Now having been away and having done Bahrain, the rush of qualifying, the excitement of the race, the battling on Lap 1, there is a lot of great things that happen in Formula 1, and it's a lot of fun.
"So, if the right opportunity is there, of course, but that's not going to be an easy, easy task.
"I think everyone's learning curve is very steep with these new cars. There's lots to learn, you know, and we'll continue for the months to come."
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