Nico Hulkenberg thrilled with Spa finish

Omnisports

August 29, 2016 10:01 AM

Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg missed out on a maiden podium but was thrilled with his fourth-placed finish at Spa - his best F1 result since 2013.

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Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg missed out on a maiden podium but was thrilled with his fourth-placed finish at Spa - his best Formula One result since 2013.

Hulkenberg avoided the early drama at the Belgian Grand Prix to move up into second after the first corner, with the German able to keep up the pace with the leaders.

While he was eventually passed by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and then Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton - who started from 21st on the grid - Hulkenberg managed to hold out for fourth place.

Hulkenberg was happy with how the race panned out, securing his best result since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix.

"I had a mega start, a mega first lap. There was a bit of a thingy going on between Max [Verstappen] and the Ferraris I believe and I was able to profit from that and found myself in second," Hulkenberg said.

"On that super-soft tyre it was going actually well, I was behind Nico [Rosberg, race winner], he was pulling away from me a little bit but I was pulling away from the people behind me, which was really important at that stage of the race."

However, Hulkenberg bemoaned the red flag on lap 10 caused by a huge accident involving Renault's Kevin Magnussen, which meant drivers were able to alter their strategies.

"Unfortunately the red flag came and neutralised the race, which was a bit frustrating at that moment," he added.

"I would have preferred not to have that red flag but that's racing."

With the points, Hulkenberg moved up into ninth in the drivers' standings, 13 points behind team-mate Sergio Perez in eighth place.

Omnisports