Renault confirms Hulkenberg for 2017

Renault has confirmed Nico Hulkenberg will drive for the team in 2017 following his release from Force India.

Hulkenberg has been linked with a move to Renault over the past week and Force India announced the German will leave the team at the end of the season earlier on Friday. Renault has now followed that announcement by confirming Hulkenberg will join on a multi-year deal, with Renault Sport Racing Chairman Jerome Stoll saying his experience is vital.

Manufacturer team too good to ignore - Hulkenberg

“2017 will be the second season of Groupe Renault’s return as a manufacturer entry in Formula 1 and the next step in our journey," Stoll said. "This season has been about putting the foundations in place for future success.

"For our next step we required an experienced driver who is still hungry for podiums. Nico Hülkenberg fulfils this role perfectly and is an excellent complement to what we want to achieve. He is a highly talented, dedicated and motivated driver.

"Nico will enable us to harness all the hard work completed this season and translate it to improved results on track in 2017 and beyond. We look forward to seeing him in our new car for 2017.”

In 111 starts, Hulkenberg has scored 344 points but has yet to finish on the podium in F1. He also has one pole position to his name, scored driving for Williams at Interlagos in 2010, while he won last year's Le Mans 24 Hours on debut driving for Porsche.

Hulkenberg's arrival leaves just one seat available at Renault, with current race drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer in the frame alongside Mercedes youngster Esteban Ocon.

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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.