Sauber: Nico Hülkenberg has activated his release clause
After rumors circulated that he was not paid in May and that the team's employees also experienced payment issues, Nico Hülkenberg confirmed that he activated the exit clause of his contract with Sauber.
Nico Hülkenberg has announced the activation of the exit clause in his contract with Sauber, to which he has been tied since the start of the season. While this doesn’t mean he is leaving the team immediately, he is now free to leave at any time if he wishes. However, it can be reasonably expected that he will still be seen driving for the Swiss team in the upcoming Grand Prix, although their financial issues are now becoming clearly apparent.
I think the situation is difficult. Monisha Kaltenborn and the entire management team are working to find a solution. She assured me that she’s working hard on it, and that’s all I can say at the moment. I have to prepare for the next step in my career: nothing is impossible or excluded.
With Sergio Pérez’s departure from Hinwil to Woking at the end of last season, the financial support from Telmex, the company of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, followed the same direction. Along with Pérez, Kamui Kobayashi, who had performed equally well in the championship with his teammate, was forced to pack his bags due to insufficient financial support (which led him to initiate the now-famous “Kobayathon” to raise funds). The Swiss team, still without a title sponsor, hopes to sign a contract with a major sponsor soon, but it is also considering finding an investor to buy all or part of the team to save it.
On his side, Nico Hülkenberg’s career is experiencing a new twist. His first full season in Formula 1 with Williams revealed him, highlighted by the pole position obtained in Brazil, the penultimate Grand Prix of the season, outpacing the quartet of title contenders. Unfortunately, financial reasons already cut his momentum (with the arrival of Pastor Maldonado and Venezuelan petrodollars). He then bounced back at Force India as a test driver for the 2011 season before becoming a main driver in 2012 after Adrian Sutil’s legal troubles. Hülkenberg managed to match his teammate, Paul Di Resta, scoring nearly twenty more points than the Scotsman for the Indian team. With Sutil’s return and Sauber’s very successful 2012 season, Hülkenberg was certainly hoping to reach a new milestone in his career. Unsurprisingly, his performances are much better than the first competitor of any driver: his teammate (Esteban Guttiérez). Despite a car below his team’s expectations, he scored four times and brought in all of his team’s points.
After starting three seasons with three different teams, what will be the new destination for the German driver? His name frequently comes up in paddock rumors associated with Maranello, but Felipe Massa, who has a one-year renewable contract based on performance conditions, still officially receives support from the Italian team and has indeed raised his level this season compared to 2012 and 2011. There’s no doubt that the summer period, always rich in contractual negotiations, will bring its share of answers.
