Hülkenberg was Hamilton back up option for Mercedes reveals Brawn

Former Mercedes boss Ross Brawn has revealed Nico Hülkenberg was the fallback option had he been unable to convince Lewis Hamilton to join the team in 2013.

Brawn, now the Formula 1 managing director motorsports, wrote in his Formula1.com column that Hülkenberg was next in line to replace Michael Schumacher at Mercedes should Hamilton have elected to remain with McLaren.

His comments come after Hülkenberg made his F1 return with Racing Point, qualifying third at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix and finishing seventh.

Outclassing team-mate Lance Stroll for large parts of the weekend, Hülkenberg dropped behind the Canadian after severe vibrations on his left front forced him to pit in the closing laps.

Brawn wrote: "It was going to be an incredible physical challenge for Nico Hulkenberg and I don’t know how much he hurt at the end of the race, but it was great performance all weekend by someone who had just been dropped in the deep end.

"I almost signed him years ago, when I was in charge at Mercedes. If Lewis hadn’t joined Mercedes when he did, Nico was our next choice."

Numerous drivers, including race winner Max Verstappen, have admitted to their surprise that Hülkenberg is without a full-time seat in the sport, and Brawn echoed these sentiments.

He added: "I’ve always respected Nico enormously as a driver. He’s a very strong driver who should be in Formula 1."

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