F1: 3 Reasons Why Hulkenberg Could Challenge Ricciardo at Renault

When Daniel Ricciardo announced that he would be leaving Red Bull for Renault in 2019, most fans of the sport were as shocked as there were excited to see silly season become a reality.

Nico Hulkenberg was already contracted to remain with the French outfit for the next campaign and the majority don't believe that the Hulk has a chance of outscoring the Honey Badger next year.

After all, Hulkenberg holds the record for most Formula 1 races without a podium and Ricciardo already has seven wins under his belt.

I, however, think differently, and Hulkenberg could surprise a lot of F1's faithful this time next year, here's why:

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#1 Raw Speed

Hulkenberg's pole position in his rookie season was one of the first signs of his incredible speed.

When Hulkenberg was a fresh-faced rookie in 2010, he was driving for Williams, and the British outfit was in a similar situation to what they are now, with one of the slowest cars on the grid.

Rubens Barrichello, the most experienced driver in F1 history, was the German's teammate in his rookie year and Hulkenberg was predictably outscored by the Brazilian veteran over the whole season.

However, Hulkenberg did have the team's best moment, claiming pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix, the first pole for the team in five years.

Nobody expected this, it's one of the most surprising qualifying results in the history of the sport and remains his only pole to this day.

It was admittedly a flash in the pan, but the talent was clear for everybody to see as he was over a second faster than anyone else, a huge margin in the sport.

Speed is the most important attribute for a racing driver to possess, you can be as consistent as you like, but without good pace, you'll be lapped in no time.

Ricciardo also has incredible raw pace, there's no denying that, so it'll be interesting to see who comes out on top in qualifying, something Hulkenberg has made a real habit of in 2018 so far.

#2 He's Beaten (almost) Everyone Put In Front of Him

Sergio Perez (left) is one of the few drivers to have bested Hulkenberg over the course of a season.

With Formula 1 being a sport where the athletes don't have a level playing field in terms of their equipment, the only true measure of a driver is how he matches up against his teammate.

All you have to do is look at the title battle this season, it's impossible to say who has done a better job out of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, it's a matter of opinion.

With that in mind, how does Hulkenberg stack up against his current and former teammates? Unsurprisingly, very well indeed. Nico's outscored Paul di Resta, Esteban Gutierrez Jolyon Palmer and is currently ahead of Carlos Sainz in this year's championship.

Sainz is definitely the pick of the bunch out those drivers and was expected to beat the Hulk all ends up this season but it hasn't worked out like that. Hulkenberg has outscored the Spaniard 52-30 and dominated during qualifying as well.

There is an exception to Hulkenberg's teammate battles, though, and it's not Barrichello, it's Sergio Perez. The two were at Force India for three years between 2014 and 2016, and despite Hulk out-scoring the Mexican in 2014, the tables were turned for the next two seasons.

In that time, Perez scored four podiums, something Hulkenberg hasn't managed in his entire career. I honestly think it's a case of Perez suiting the Force India car very well, just like Nico appears to fit into the Renault like a glove, but this period did raise questions about how good he is.

Of course, the exact same can be said of Ricciardo, and he actually has beaten all of his teammates (including Vettel) so with Renault likely to close the gap between them and leaders for 2019, it should be a close battle to see who gets their first podium in yellow.

#3 He Will be in his Third Season at Renault

Hulkenberg joined Renault in 2017 and hasn't looked back since.

Hulkenberg was a good driver (by Formula 1 standards) before he joined Renault, but I believe he's elevated himself to a new level since joining the French manufacturer.

Dev Tyagi wrote a great article on just how good Hulk's 2018 has been so far, so make sure to check that out as well if you'd like some further reading, but I'll summarise my observations here.

It takes time to settle down with anything in life, and that includes a racing team. Many complain about how similar the F1 cars are these days, but they're all unique machines and mastering and optimizing each's nuances separates the goods from the greats.

Ricciardo, despite how good he is, will have to allow for an adjustment period after driving for the Red Bull family in Formula 1 since 2012.

Ricciardo could hit the ground running, of course, especially since he has plenty of experience with Renault engines, but I believe it could take half of the 2019 season to fully adapt, seeing as testing mileage is so limited these days.

The gap between the top three teams (Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull) and the others is a yawning chasm and one of F1's biggest criticisms in recent times.

Hulk's done his best to challenge them but is often consigned to being "best of the rest" in seventh or around there.

When you consider there are the likes of Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly and his teammate Sainz in that mix, to be consistently on top of "the second championship" as it's been dubbed is a fine achievement.

It's something that any of F1's recognised top drivers would be proud of in that situation, and that includes Daniel Ricciardo.

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But how do you think Hulkenberg will compete against Ricciardo next year? Will the Hulk smash the Honey Badger or will it go as many fans expect it to? Let us know in the comments below!