Nico Hulkenberg does not belong in F1 and Audi should have gone with Mick Schumacher, reckons Sebastian Vettel's former boss

Sebastian Vettel's former boss Franz Tost feels Nico Hulkenberg does not belong in F1 and Audi should have gone for Mick Schumacher. The German brand will be making its official Formula 1 entry in 2026 and is using the years before that to build a foundation for the racing unit.

As a part of this foundation unit, former Ferrari man Mattia Binotto has been hired by the German brand to oversee everything. In terms of drivers, Audi finalized the driver duo that's going to represent the team in 2026, when the project launches. Nico Hulkenberg was signed by the team early in the year, and the second driver is going to be Brazilian youngster Gabriel Bortoleto.

The choice of Hulkenberg and Bortoleto has not found favour with Sebastian Vettel's former boss Franz Tost. Hulkenberg had an underwhelming race in tough conditions in Brazil where he was disqualified after getting a push backon to the track from the marshals.

While the German has been good since his comeback and has been the key contributor to the team, the former Torro Rosso/AlphaTauri team principal feels that the last few races have shown that Hulkenberg does not belong in F1 and the team would be better served by having Mick Schumacher on board.

In conversation with F1-Insider, Tost said (via motorsport.com),

"The last few races have shown that Nico Hulkenberg is past his peak and in my opinion does not belong in Formula 1 anymore. It would be better to focus on a young German like Mick Schumacher. I would play the German card, especially in these difficult times. That is the best way to get employees who are critical of Formula 1 back on board."

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Audi should have gone for Mick Schumacher over Gabriel Bortoleto - Fransz Tost

Franz Tost also emphasized the steep jump a driver experiences when moving to F1 from the junior classes. Talking about how Mick Schumacher has already been in the sport and is still young, Tost felt that the German would have been a better option.

Schumacher has won both the F3 and F2 championhips, while Gabriel Bortoleto is yet to win both, though he has won F3 and is leading the championship in F2 currently.

Talking about Bortoleto signing with Audi, Tost said,

"They could do it differently and sign Mick Schumacher. Mick is also still young and has won both decisive junior classes, which Bortoleto has not yet managed."

He added,

"He [Bortoleto] has done well in the junior classes so far, but the jump to Formula 1 is huge. The cars are relatively easy to drive in dry conditions, but in the rain in São Paulo you saw what happened to the other highly touted young drivers: Oliver Bearman often drove off the track and seemed overwhelmed most of the time. And Franco Colapinto had two serious crashes. That cost Williams millions. Politically it would also be an extremely unfortunate decision."

Audi may perhaps be starting its F1 journey on a slippery slope as Sauber, the team that the German brand is supposed to take over, is performing poorly. The next 12 or so months would be crucial to see where the team ends up in terms of performance.