The realities of Hulkenberg's quest to save his F1 career

Williams is a possible destination for Nico Hulkenberg's Formula 1 future, and there would be a nice symmetry in the fact that he started his career in the championship with the Grove team back in 2010.

But can it afford to sign him? And, if not, does Hulkenberg have any realistic chances of landing a drive elsewhere?

The 2019 silly season was never going to be particularly dramatic, and in Singapore one of the few remaining questions was answered when Haas confirmed that Romain Grosjean would be staying after all, leaving Hulkenberg with one less chance of finding a new F1 home for next season.

At the same time, a potential opportunity opened up when Robert Kubica announced that he would not be returning with Williams for a second season.

It's easy to speculate that Kubica either knew or guessed that Williams had other plans, and that he wouldn't be invited to continue next year - and so jumped first, leaving with his dignity intact and giving himself as much time as possible to sort out his future elsewhere.

Whatever the truth, his announcement made it clear-cut for Williams - in terms of both the open race seat and subsequent changes on the commercial side, as the team knows that Kubica's Polish sponsorship is also going.

"Obviously Robert has made his decision not to continue with us," says Claire Williams. "We clearly respect that, it's his decision if he doesn't want to continue.

"He's done a great job for the team over the past two years, originally as reserve driver then stepping up as a race driver. I wish him well.

"Our plans at the moment are under consideration. As you would expect, we've got some candidates on our list that we're considering, that we're talking to, and we're taking our time to deliberate on that to make sure we make the right decision for 2020."

Inevitably, finances will play a big part in the choice, as they so often do at Williams, a team that must generate cash and does not have a manufacturer or a benefactor behind it. Hulkenberg was ousted at the end of 2010 in favour of Pastor Maldonado, who had significant support from PDVSA.

Latifi has impressed the team this year, and he is clearly capable of making the step to F1

The case for Williams taking a driver with backing is even stronger now. After it slumped to last in the world championship in 2018, the team is paying the price this year with significantly reduced income from the F1 organisation. It has also lost Martini, as well as the sponsorship associated with former drivers Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin.

To some degree that was balanced out by new title sponsor ROKiT, plus Kubica's Orlen money. But that hasn't fully plugged the gap, and just a couple of weeks ago the team's interim 2019 accounts for January-June told the story. Turnover was £46.3m in January-June, compared with £60.7m for the same period last season. The team also posted a significant loss.

Logic suggests that Williams now has no choice but to take a driver with money. And the man in pole position is third driver Nicholas Latifi, whose father's Sofina food brand already appears on the FW42.

Latifi has impressed the team this year, and he is clearly capable of making the step to F1, but first he must guarantee getting a superlicence. To do that he must finish at least fifth in the 2019 Formula 2 championship. With two weekends to go he is second, under some pressure from the three guys immediately behind, but with a significant buffer to sixth place.

"Nicholas has quite a similar personality to George [Russell]," says Williams. "He rolls up his sleeves and he gets on with the job that we ask him to do. Everything that we've wanted to see from him as a reserve driver, taking on the FP1 running for us at some of the races, and the test sessions as well.

"He's very personable, very likeable outside the car, [and] obviously the advantage is he does know the team now as well. But he's got some rounds still remaining in F2 and he's still got to get his superlicence points as well for us to be able to consider him for 2020."

Latifi's superlicence issue means there are few other qualified candidates around that also have money. But a return for Sirotkin - after a year spent as Renault and McLaren reserve - doesn't appear to be on the cards.

So, what of Hulkenberg's chances - can Williams really afford to pay an established driver?

"It's not an easy predicament that we're in at the moment when it comes to that second seat and our financial considerations," says Williams.

"But that's not to say that we can't potentially make a driver work that doesn't come with backing. So, we do have options available to us. We haven't had any conversations with Nico, though."

When asked if Hulkenberg could potentially be of interest, she adds: "Of course someone of Nico's competence or capability is always going to appeal to a team."

Williams acknowledges that an experienced driver can help to push a team forward, which is what it needs. However, she points out that a youngster can also be inspirational, citing the job that George Russell has done this year.

"That's one argument in favour of bringing an experienced driver in, in order to help lead and guide the team," she explains. "But equally there's no reason to say that a younger driver couldn't do that as well.

"I'm not desperate to stay in F1 and just take anything" Nico Hulkenberg

"George is a perfect example with the work that he's done for us this year. It's his first year in F1, he's been able to help lead the team in an extraordinary way, to be honest, in what's been a very difficult year for him.

"He comes to the track, puts a smile on his face, and he leads the team. He knows and understands that responsibility outside the cockpit, as he does [with] the responsibility inside the cockpit."

There's no guarantee that Hulkenberg would even want to go to Williams. After all those years in midfield teams, he may have to think twice about going to the back of the grid.

"I guess so," he says of that suggestion. "And that goes back to when everything with Renault was announced, as much as I want to continue in F1, for me it needs to make sense. It needs to be sensible, it needs to be the right deal.

"I'm not desperate to stay in F1 and just take anything. I'm not disregarding or disrespecting Williams now, I mean in general, globally, even with Haas, that's the most important thing for me."

One thing he can't do is bring money to a team, as he explains: "No. I'm not looking for that. For me, I've always found it's very hard in F1, in the midfield, to find sponsors. It's not that easy. We've tried, but it's not something that I can bring to a team.

"You see and understand for yourself what's available, which seats [are] and which [are] not. I think that's pretty obvious. Right now, it's to a big extent out of my control, out of my hands.

"So the most important thing is to drive and perform. We just need a bit more time. I think there's still possibilities and realistic chances, but in this game you can never be too sure."

In truth, Hulkenberg's options are few. It's no secret that he's badgered Helmut Marko about a Red Bull drive, but the company line has always been that the whole point of the junior programme is to promote in-house talent.

The second Red Bull seat and the Toro Rossos will more than likely be shared between Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat. However, if one of them falls out of favour in the coming months, or there's any other pressing reason to pursue a change of philosophy, then Hulkenberg would probably be high on a shortlist of possible replacements, given that there are no other Red Bull youngsters ready to graduate just yet.

The most intriguing possibility for Hulkenberg is at Alfa Romeo. He had a frustrating season with the team when it was known as Sauber in 2013, but that was on Monisha Kaltenborn's watch, and the team has changed under new ownership and with its rebadged identity.

Crucially, the man now in charge is his close pal Frederic Vasseur. Hulkenberg won the 2008 Formula 3 Euroseries and '09 GP2 titles with the Frenchman's ART Grand Prix team, and during his brief stint with Renault, Vasseur was instrumental in getting the '15 Le Mans winner to Enstone.

They form a mutual admiration society, although Hulkenberg (with Vasseur in 2010, below) plays down their connections.

"We've known each other for many years, he's obviously the guy that brought me [to Renault], that I did the deal with, ultimately," he explains. "I guess it doesn't hurt."

Even if there's no future for Hulkenberg at Maranello, he would likely score a lot of points for Alfa

The problem is that Vasseur has a bigger picture to consider. The way the Alfa deal is structured means engine and gearbox supplier Ferrari also 'owns' one of the two race seats, which over the past two years has been occupied by its junior drivers Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi.

The latter's future claim on it has inevitably come under question after a rollercoaster rookie season. The team admits that Giovinazzi has been let down on occasion by mechanical gremlins, but there have been many mistakes, most recently a costly one right at the end of the Belgian GP.

However, he bounced back to score points in Italy and Singapore, even leading the latter after the top drivers pitted. He's also pushed experienced team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in qualifying.

Mick Schumacher is the next in line in the Ferrari junior programme, but he's in no hurry and is set for a second year of F2 in 2020, with a possible F1 graduation in 2021 if all goes well.

The question then is, has Giovinazzi done enough to keep his seat for 2020? And given that Alfa is obviously a staging post for Ferrari, does Maranello still believe he is a future race driver, and deserving of another year?

At the moment, the indications are that he's safe, but if the answer ends up being a no, then placing Hulkenberg in the Ferrari-owned seat at Alfa is not such a crazy idea. A respected and hugely experienced driver would become part of the family and be on standby should Sebastian Vettel depart.

Even if there's no future for him at Maranello, he would likely score a lot of points for Alfa and be ready to step up should Raikkonen finally stop - freeing up a seat for a Ferrari youngster once again.

Hulkenberg once came close before to landing a Ferrari drive, and while the management at the team has changed since then, there's some respect for him in the camp.

When it comes to selling himself to a potential employer, Hulkenberg is confident that he has a lot to offer.

"A fast race driver, consistent," he assesses. "A driver has a lot of jobs in one - we are motivators, we are racers, we have to be fast, we have to push the team forward in terms of development, also on the human side there's a lot of elements.

"And of course I have a lot of experience on my side, but it's not just about experience, it's many things - and obviously the teams that would be interested, they look for themselves and choose if they like that or not."

After winning so much on his way through the ranks, Hulkenberg's stalled F1 career is a case of what might have been had he been snapped up by one of the big players at an earlier stage. His 2015 Le Mans victory with Porsche gave him a rare reminder of the winning feeling.

"That proves [it's] quite difficult in F1!" he insists. "We know unless you have the right weapon, or crazy circumstances, it's tough. But obviously the dream is still there, and the fire. I think step-by-step now, first things first, and then we see what happens."

One thing he definitely doesn't want to do is take a year out again, having sat on the sidelines in 2011.

"It's very different, that was right at the beginning of my career, after my first year," he says. "That's a very hypothetical question. Who knows if I'd want to come back then? Maybe I'll enjoy time off as well. I couldn't tell you right now."