Haug: “There is no contact with Hulkenberg”

Nico Hulkenberg could become Mercedes' third reserve driver in 2011. After a brilliant career in minor formulas, where he won the title in A1 GP, European F3 and GP2, the 23-year-old made a misstep in Formula 1 losing his starting driver job at Williams at the end of this season.

With efforts to gain a seat in Renault or Force India, the cars most similar to Williams in terms of competitiveness, seem doomed to fail, his manager Willi Weber believes the best available alternative is the role of tester in a top team.
Weber told Auto Motor und Sport that it is a more attractive option to be “the third man in a top team who first drives from the back of the grid”.
And during a season in which you know you can't be competitive, according to Weber, "you learn nothing, and your career will regress."
But Mercedes boss Norbert Haug cooled down these rumors about Hulkenberg: “We have no contact at the moment,” he said, praising the young German's abilities. “His car didn't drive itself to pole in Brazil. Someone who wins GP2 and gets a pole in Formula 1 must necessarily have some ability,” commented Haug.
Who, however, did not agree with Weber on the fact that being the third driver in a top team is better than a starting place with a smaller team. “If he wants to continue to make progress in his career, it would be better for him to race with a second or even third tier team,” Haug said.

Filippo Ronchetti