The German says grid begin and dash to the end presents an excessive amount of danger and that drivers who’ve labored arduous to get into robust positions within the closing laps have an excessive amount of to lose.
Following a pink flag triggered by Alex Albon’s Flip 6 crash, the Melbourne race was stopped for a second time with three laps to go after Hulkenberg’s team-mate Kevin Magnussen hit the wall at Flip 2 and his damaged wheel rim left particles on the observe.
After a formation lap, the sphere was set for a two-lap dash to the flag. Nonetheless, following a collection of first nook incidents the race was once more red-flagged, with Hulkenberg having jumped as much as fourth on the highway.
A prolonged delay ensued that included a debate in regards to the grid positions for the ultimate one-lap run to the flag behind the security automotive. The FIA finally determined to make use of the order from the earlier begin, which left Hulkenberg in seventh.
Perception: 10 things we learned from the 2023 Australian Grand Prix
His crew lodged a protest, arguing that he ought to have been sixth had the order been taken on the security automotive two line earlier than Flip 1, however this was dismissed by the stewards.
Hulkenberg remained within the cockpit all through, and mentioned that he was reminded of his victorious Le Mans 24 Hours one-off with Porsche in 2015 as he “shut to a few hours contained in the cockpit”.
Concerning the ultimate grid restart he mentioned: “It is all the time such a thrill, it is a component of leisure, however as a driver and for groups, it is fairly an odd feeling to have.
“You have labored all race lengthy, you solely have a few laps left and then you definately’re imagined to do a complete race begin once more.
“There are two sides to it. I believe there are going to be lots of discussions it’s a must to overview.
Max Verstappen, Purple Bull Racing RB19, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, lead the sphere away on the restart
Photograph by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images
“There was an Aston [Fernando Alonso] that obtained circled, however he was fortunate he may come again to the race.
“However clearly that is a nightmare situation for a driver. You do race, you are in place. There is a pink flag, you do a restart, you get hit by somebody, it is not your mistake. And your entire weekend is worn out.
“So I really feel that is a component which is type of synthetic. And I am unsure that is the DNA that I’ve identified for F1.
“I believe there’s going to be somewhat bit of debate about this.”
Hulkenberg additionally predicted that the way in which the order was decided when the race ran to the flag behind the security automotive would imply “one massive dialogue that’s going to erupt now”.
“I believe there’s a little little bit of confusion, to say the least, about why it took so lengthy to get the ultimate restart, which was not supreme,” he added.
