Nico Hulkenberg found himself in an unfortunate situation during the Qatar Grand Prix as he admitted to starting from the wrong grid spot, incurring a 10-second penalty. The mishap occurred due to last-minute grid changes related to Carlos Sainz’s absence.
The race began with only 18 cars on the grid, as Sergio Perez had to start from the pit lane following parc ferme rule violations by Red Bull. Additionally, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was unable to participate in the race due to a fuel cell leak in his SF-23. The team determined that there wasn’t enough time to repair the issue, resulting in Sainz’s non-participation.
Nico Hulkenberg, who was filling in for Sainz at Ferrari, lined up in the Spaniard’s vacant grid spot. However, he later received a 10-second penalty for this infringement. Hulkenberg candidly admitted his mistake, saying, “I screwed up. We don’t need to argue about it. It’s a strange situation when suddenly there’s no car in front of you. You’re used to catching up. Screwed up, plain and simple.”
Replays of the race’s start showed Hulkenberg frantically looking around as he seemingly realized his error. “I realized before I stopped, but you can’t reverse, and the damage was done, so that was obviously a big mistake from me,” he explained. “That stopped our race before it even started.”
To compound matters, Haas had actually reminded him about the grid placement on the formation lap. His race engineer radioed, “Remember to leave the free space behind Norris in front of you.”
Nico Hulkenberg ultimately finished the Grand Prix in 16th place, and his team boss, Guenther Steiner, expressed disappointment over the error. “Nico starting in the wrong grid spot at the beginning didn’t help at all because once you get 10 seconds behind at the start of the race where we are, you have no chance. We fought, but it wasn’t enough,” Steiner lamented.
