Hulkenberg explains "biggest challenge" on latest F1 return

Nico Hulkenberg has revealed he is bracing himself for his "biggest challenge" going into Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Aston Martin driver, standing in for Sebastian Vettel after his fellow German contracted Covid, out-qualified team-mate Lance Stroll by two positions to line up 17th on the grid on his return to F1.

It was another late call up with little preparation time for Hulkenberg who only landed in Bahrain at midnight ahead of Friday practice.

But after assessing his performance, he said: "It was a good quali. Short, but from where I was sitting it was good.

"I am happy with the laps that I produced, they were clean, they were good. I don't think I left much out there.

"Having said that, I think it was 0.05secs to Q2. You can always get that somewhere but at least there was no obvious mistake where I lost lap time.

"So from that point of view, given where I came from and started this weekend I am pretty pleased and satisfied with that."

The race will provide an extra challenge for Hulkenberg who will have to endure upwards of 90 minutes of aggressive G-forces and the now notorious porpoising phenomenon.

"I have got respect for the race tomorrow," he explained. "It is going to be the hardest day actually and the biggest challenge ahead. Being in the fight again, surrounded by cars.

"So far it was good, I was like 'Go away from me I haven't done this in a while', so that is going to be challenging, managing the tyres and everything is a big task, a big challenge tomorrow.

"As I did until now, I will do what I can and see what happens."

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