Nico Hülkenberg celebrated has 100th Grand Prix entry in Formula One at the Russian Grand Prix, although it wasn’t as long as he would have hoped. He was forced to retire on lap one after contact from Esteban Gutiérrez.
Hülkenberg was one of the many drivers that suffered an accident in turn two, the first serious corner on the circuit, since turn one is not as severe as it is at other circuits on the calendar. He was struck from behind by the Haas of Gutiérrez, who had miscalculated the braking. This issue was not related to the accident in turn two and three between Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat. Gutiérrez was found guilty of causing a collision and the FIA handed him a drive-through penalty.
Hülkenberg discusses the events that unfolded during the race:
“It was a very frustrating end to my weekend. I got to turn two and felt a big shove from behind: Esteban [Gutiérrez] out-braked himself, hit me and spun me around. I was hit by other cars and the damage was too much to even attempt to continue. It’s very disappointing and not the way I wanted to celebrate my 100th race weekend. Hopefully our luck will change soon as we have been very unlucky lately. We should have some upgrades in Spain and I want to be back scoring the points we deserve.”
The damage was too heavy on the Force India for Hülkenberg to continue the race, but Gutiérrez was a little more fortunate. He was able to continue the race, but needed to make an early pit stop during the safety car period to repair the damage and then needed to serve his penalty, causing him to lose a lot of time and track position.
“I arrived at the first corner with a lot of space in front and I braked but, unfortunately, I couldn’t stop the car and I ran into Nico [Hülkenberg],” Esteban Gutiérrez explained after the race, “It’s a shame not only for me but for him, as well.”
Hülkenberg wasn’t the only person celebrating 100 Grand Prix entries; Pirelli was also celebrating their 100th Grand Prix since they returned to Formula One as a tyre supplier in 2011. They took over the position as sole tyre supplier in Formula One from Bridgestone in 2011. This is excluding their seasons that they supplied tyres for in the 1950s, the 1980s and 1990s.
Hülkenberg’s teammate was also celebrating his 100th Grand Prix entry, although his celebration was a little more successful, as he scored his first two points of 2016 with a ninth place finish. This is despite suffering a puncture one the first lap, presumably due to debris from one of the multiple accidents in turns two and three.
