Hulkenberg rues late puncture
Nico Hulkenberg felt the slow puncture that cost him sixth place in the closing stages of the Korean Grand Prix was cruel luck given how strong his performance had been at Yeongam
Williams was on course for fifth and sixth places with Rubens Barrichello and Hulkenberg going into the final laps, but heavy tyre wear saw the former fall to seventh, while Hulkenberg's extra pitstop meant he could only salvage 10th.
"We did everything right today; we simply had some bad luck," said Hulkenberg.
"I came in just before the safety car was released which cost me time and lost me a place. We managed to claw back position and were running in sixth towards the end of the race, but then my engineer told me I had a slow puncture.
"I couldn't keep running until the end as the car was totally undriveable. We had to pit and that cost us a big result today."
Barrichello was pleased with Williams's pace even though the result was less than the team had looked set for.
"It was a tough race, but we were competitive today," said the Brazilian.
"I was lucky with the timing of the safety car and we were running in a good position right up until the closing stages.
"Unfortunately, I just ran out of tyre in the last five laps which cost us two places in the end."
Share Or Save This Story
Hamilton accepts blame for incident with Albon in F1 Brazilian GP
Ferrari drivers called to F1 stewards over Brazilian GP collision
Will Alonso's Indy failure end the age of versatility?
Vettel claims F1 is losing its DNA – but does it even exist?
“Miracles are not possible” – Why Audi won’t find a quick engine fix through F1’s ADUO framework
Why Hulkenberg's F1 podium drought was never going to define his career
Why Marquez can only "survive" in Spanish GP despite return to full fitness
What Apple TV’s F1® coverage delivers for fans in the U.S.
What other tracks should return to the F1 calendar? Our writers have their say
What's behind McLaren's fresh A-B F1 team angst?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments