2016 Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg praised Nico Hulkenberg’s “spectacular” reaction after the Audi driver narrowly avoided a high-speed collision with team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto on the opening lap of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Although the rain had stopped before the race began, several wet patches remained on the circuit. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen lost control on a damp section while navigating the banked final corner and crashed into the barriers. Bortoleto suffered a similar incident but managed to continue after spinning 360 degrees.
As Bortoleto spun across the track in front of him, Hulkenberg was briefly engulfed in tyre smoke. When the smoke cleared, he found his Audi team-mate directly ahead.
Speaking during the Sky Sports F1 broadcast, Rosberg highlighted how the 39-year-old avoided a potentially major crash.
“It just shows how quick those drivers react. Hulkenberg went in; he knew more or less where Bortoleto was, where his trajectory was going,” Rosberg explained. “He has a white wall, but then at the last moment sees him and bam, reacts and avoids [a crash].
“It was a spectacular reaction from Hulkenberg, so I don’t think it was just luck. I think there was also some skill there to avoid that big crash.”
Hulkenberg went on to secure his best result of the season by finishing eighth, earning four valuable points for Audi. Bortoleto recovered from his spin to take 13th place.
Hulkenberg explains Dutch Grand Prix near-miss
The German driver later described the incident while speaking to Sky Sports Germany.
“Yeah, it was tricky and dicey. Naturally, I saw it all happen almost in slow motion at that speed.
“But Turn 14 was simply still completely wet and, on slicks, it’s a bit of a thriller, of course. I saw him lose the car—like I said, slow motion and at speed. But then you don’t know exactly whether he’s going to slide up or slide down, what’s going to happen.
“And it was clear to me: hey, I have to try to somehow get around this. On top of that, there was all the debris and the smoke from Max ahead. So it looked wild and spectacular. I slowed down and tried to wait as long as possible before deciding which way to go. A sheet of paper would have fitted between us, but not much more.”
Source: www.motorsport.com
