Hulkenberg to sign new F1 deal ‘very soon

Nico Hülkenberg has insisted that he is still 'sure' he will be able to say in Formula 1 next year, even though he has yet to sign a new deal. Hülkenberg had a good first season, but despite that Williams opted not to retain him and his future is now unclear.

The 23-year-old remains upbeat though, and in his blog on his personal website, he added that something should be announced very soon.

“I'm still sure that I will stay in F1 in 2011," he confirmed. “I still do not have a new contract with another team, but that will hopefully change very soon. It looks well! Soon I will start to torture myself again to become fit for the new season. I am full of energy."

Hülkenberg has been linked to a race seat with Force India in recent weeks. Failing that his manager, Willi Weber, has indicated that a reserve place with one of the larger teams would be preferable to a spot with one of the sports minnows.

Meanwhile, while he struggled in the first part of the season, Nico was pleased to eventually end the year with 22 points in total – and take pole in Brazil.

“Our car was quite difficult to drive, especially in these first eight races and I was not able to handle it compared to Rubens [Barrichello – my old team-mate] who has 18 years of experience in Formula 1," Nico continued. “Therefore he looked stronger most of the time.

"But I still believed in myself and worked even harder. I really had to fight for the good results! Altogether I can say that I was not happy with the first half of the season. I don’t know if that means 'gaining experience', but I was quite pissed.

“But it went better and better for myself starting with Montreal. That was also the time where the updates of the car started to work.

"[Then] the absolute highlight of the season was of course the pole in Brazil – that was just incredible! I’ve watched my lap already around 100 times and I am very proud," he concluded.