‘Cinderella’ Hulkenberg finds the shoe that fits
BARCELONA: Like a sporting Cinderella, Sauber Formula One driver Nico Hulkenberg has been given the shoe that fits.
Whether his season turns out to be a fairytale with a happy ending remains to be seen but the tall German was content yesterday to have swept away at least one of his problems.
Hulkenberg, who has moved to the Swiss team from Force India, had trouble getting comfortable in his new cockpit at the first preseason test in Jerez this month with talk of it being too tight for him.
“The media has blown up all these stories. The real issue was that in Jerez we didn’t have the right shoe size for me - that was it,” he told Formula One’s official website (www.formula1.com).
“Now with the right shoe size everything is perfect.
“Does that make me the F1 Cinderella? That only the one with the ‘right’ shoe size will see a happy ending? Who knows? I do love fairytales - I just wonder who is playing the wicked stepmother,” he added with a laugh.
Hulkenberg has yet to finish on the podium in two seasons in Formula One, despite taking pole position with Williams in Brazil in 2010, but his new team finished in the top three on four occasions last year.
The 25-year- old, who has been linked to Ferrari as a possible successor to Brazilian Felipe Massa next year, was confident he had made the right decision in joining the Swiss Ferrari-powered team.
“You never know, the big breakthrough might be here at Sauber,” he said. — Reuters