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Former F1 driver and pundit Ralf Schumacher has pitched in the name of Kick Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg as a possible teammate for Max Verstappen at Red Bull. The Dutch driver will have his sixth teammate in the form of Yuki Tsunoda since joining the Austrian team in the middle of the 2016 season.
The four-time F1 world champion has been the top driver at Milton Keynes and has dominated most of his teammates, which has proved detrimental for the Austrian team.
Recently, Red Bull decided to demote Liam Lawson to the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 team after just two races with them, and replaced him with Yuki Tsunoda for the Japanese Grand Prix. The Kiwi had struggled massively alongside the Dutchman and had failed to even get out of the Q1 sessions in qualifying.
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Speaking with Sky Sports Germany, Schumacher opined that Red Bull made a mistake by not signing Nico Hulkenberg as Max Verstappen's teammate, as he believed that the 37-year-old would have complemented the latter perfectly. He said:
"I might even have chosen an outside driver if it had been possible. The mistake from the start was not letting Nico Hülkenberg into the car. And that was Christian Horner's decision, who apparently didn't want him—that's what I heard."
He added:
"They needed a clear, experienced number two alongside Max Verstappen. And I think that would have worked well. He's great in qualifying, and he's great in race trim—and that was the big mistake."
Nico Hulkenberg has spent all of his decade-long F1 career racing in the midfield teams and has been one of the standout drivers in smaller teams.
Nico Hulkenberg says he shares a trait with Max Verstappen
Kick Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg has claimed that he and Max Verstappen had a similar "feel for the car" when it comes to adapting to different kinds of F1 machinery across their careers.
Speaking with Motorsport-Total, the German driver spoke about his ability to adjust to new cars and said (via GP Blog):
"I think it has more to do with how you feel as a driver, how your confidence is. At the end of the day, it's about the feeling you have in the car, or that's just not there. There are also drivers like Max [Verstappen]. He always performs, regardless of the car generation, under any conditions or with any rules. I have the same feeling with myself."
Nico Hulkenberg has never gotten a chance to race in a top team since making his debut in the sport in 2010. He was in contention to get the Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen in his super-sub appearances with Racing Point [now Aston Martin] for 2021, but the Austrian team went with Sergio Perez instead.
