Hulkenberg won't finish Asia series
Nico Hulkenberg says he does not expect to contest the remainder of the GP2 Asia Series despite moving up to third in the championship in just two meetings
The reigning Formula 3 Euro Series champion joined ART - who took the inaugural Asia title with Romain Grosjean - from round four in Bahrain. He proceeded to take pole in both his qualifying sessions, and won the first night race in Qatar this weekend.
Those results have put him just 12 points behind championship leader Kamui Kobayashi with four races to go, but Hulkenberg says he is still likely to hand the car back to Pastor Maldonado from Sepang as originally planned. The pair have already signed to contest the main 2009 GP2 Series for ART.
"I think I'm not going to do the remaining rounds," said Hulkenberg.
"Pastor Maldonado will be replacing me. I'm only doing Bahrain and Qatar."
Former Super Aguri Formula One driver Sakon Yamamoto is contesting the full Asia Series in the second ART car.
Points leader Kobayashi struggled for pace at Losail and failed to score in the sprint race after a collision, but he was not too concerned to see his championship advantage eroded to ten points over Davide Valsecchi and 12 over Hulkenberg.
"My lead in the championship means I can afford a mistake, but I want to get back on top at the next round," said Kobayashi.
Campos Racing's Sergio Perez has also now moved into outside title contention, having taken two victories and a second place from the last three races, putting him 14 points behind DAMS driver Kobayashi. The Mexican admitted that he was starting to think about the championship.
"I will keep my strategy and approach each weekend one by one," Perez said. "I will try to win again in Malaysia and keep the momentum. I will work as hard as possible to score as many points as possible. In the end, if I can win the championship I will be very happy."
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