Nico Hulkenberg: “Talent should come first…”

Nico Hulkenberg says he has no idea what the future holds for him at Williams after his impressive qualifying performance in Brazil.

Pastor Maldonado is waiting in the wings, although it remains to be seen whether the Venezuelan jumps straight into a Williams race seat or is loaned out to Hispania as part of the gearbox deal. Maldonado is due to test for the Spanish-owned team in Abu Dhabi.

“I don’t know yet,” said Hulkenberg when asked about his 2011 plans. “Ask Patrick or Frank. I can’t tell you what they think right now. I think I’ve done everything right this weekend, made the most out of my chances.

“Talent should come first [rather] than money in F1. But obviously with the economy having some trouble, it’s become a valid point. It may change things that I still hope that things go the way, how they should go. Rubens and I are the perfect driver combination, and I really hope we can drive together again.”

Hulkenberg said he was happy with his weekend, even if pole only resulted in eighth place.

“A positive weekend. Obviously yesterday was a big highlight for us and myself. We made the most of our opportunities. The race pace looked very poor, especially in the first stint we were struggling a lot on the option tyre. So we made the most of it. I’ll take the eighth, four points, which puts us one point ahead of the Force India guys. So that’s the positive news.

“Obviously I was a bit more nervous than usually, but if you’re nervous it’s also good, it keeps you awake and sharp. I’m used to starting from the front in GP2 and F3, but obviously this one was a bit special and different. My start was OK. I lost one position to Sebastian, who had a very good start. And then you know trying to keep in front of the big guns, the big boys, as much as I could. I defended hard but fair. I drove the race without a mistake, kept Kubica behind me all the time.

“It was very difficult. I knew where to brake and what to do, but my car was sliding a bit more than theirs, so I was sort of an easy target for Mark. Alonso was also quite quick to pass. But then Lewis struggled a bit more. In fact he didn’t even get past, just because I pitted.

“If we had a better car pace we could easily have finished fifth or sixth, we got only overtaken at the pit stops. Both Mercedes, Jenson, people who came from P14 are now well ahead of us, which is quite unfortunate. With half a second better pace per lap, we can achieve a lot more.”