Nico Hülkenberg escaped a horror crash during the last Dutch GP at Zandvoort when he narrowly avoided a spinning Gabriel Bortoleto. His Audi teammate spun in the Arie Luyendijk corner, a few seconds after Max Verstappen had already hit the wall with his Red Bull. In the end, Hülkenberg managed to salvage an eighth place. After his points finish, he shared a nice thank you to the Dutch fans.
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“It was a scary moment; there was just a sheet of paper between us, nothing more,” Hülkenberg responded to the incident with Bortoleto. “I had to somehow get past him and I just managed.” The German had to brake hard to avoid hitting his teammate. A precarious moment, he admitted. “I reacted well, but I also needed a good dose of luck. Not much went through my head, except that it would be very bad if the Audis crashed into each other here,” he laughed.
Dutch thank you
“I saw that he (Bortoleto, ed.) lost control of the car, almost in slow motion, because we were driving very slowly there,” Hülkenberg explained. “It was still very wet and we were on slicks. I saw that another car had already crashed (Max Verstappen, ed.); parts were still flying around and there was a lot of smoke. It looked like a battlefield.” After the chaotic opening lap, both Audis were able to continue the race. Hülkenberg drove a strong race and scored good points with an eighth place. “We had a good strategy and a few nice battles in the middle of the race.”
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For Hülkenberg, it was also a fitting farewell to Zandvoort, where he has a special bond due to his close connection with the Netherlands. To thank the fans, he spoke to Viaplay in his best Dutch. “Yes, I am going to miss Zandvoort very much,” he said. “It’s just amazing here. The atmosphere in the last six years has been out of this world,” the German beamed. “Today at the drivers’ parade it was so packed again and I felt so much love from all the spectators. It was really heartwarming. It was amazing. Thank you.”
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