Ferrari would block Hulkenberg's move to Lotus for the final two races

La Ferrari would have blocked the passage of Nico Hulkenberg to the Lotus for the last two Grands Prix of 2013.

This is what emerges from the Austin paddock, considering the fight between the two teams for second and third place in the constructors' championship, which brings many millions into the teams' coffers.

The first rumors were that Ferrari has hired him Kimi Raikkonen for 2014, may have encouraged the Finn to have surgery earlier to miss the races Austin and Brazil.

It is known that Lotus looked for Hulkenberg to replace the Finn, but had to give up because despite the rumors that emerged during the season the German would be blocked from the contract with Sauber (remember that during the season it emerged that Hulkenberg had terminated his contract with the Swiss team).

These rumors have been strengthened by Hulkenberg manager Werner Heinz, in fact the latter declared that switching to Lotus for the last two races would have been a violation of the contract with Sauber.

“It certainly meant breaking the contract. But I also believe that Sauber would have tried to prevent all this" declared the manager.

The rumors, however, seem to once again involve Ferrari, which would have prevented the German's move to Lotus.

“Ferrari apparently took over Hulkenberg's unpaid salary to prevent the latter's move to Lotus,” says a report in Bild newspaper.

The rumors would not be so unfounded, just think of the fact that Sauber is traditionally a trusted partner of Ferrari, as it is powered by the engines of the Italian team.

Strengthening the rumors regarding Hulkenberg's move to Lotus is the fact that at Enstone they had already prepared a tailor-made seat for Hulkenberg.

“One can only speculate on the reasons that led to this change of plans. There are rumors in Austin that Sauber paid Hulkenberg's salary at the last minute,” reports Auto Motor Und Sport.

Stefano Rifici