Nico Hulkenberg has described how he visited the FIA after being "surprised" that the virtual safety car was not called sooner on the penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The 36-year-old lost two positions on the penultimate lap in Baku, having passed the yellow-flagged section of track for Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz's crash prior to the VSC being called. In the brief period of green-flag running, the Haas driver fell behind Lewis Hamilton and stand-in team-mate Oliver Bearman, resulting in a P11 finish and no points. With the race ending under the VSC restrictions, Hulkenberg was denied the opportunity to reclaim the positions, speaking with race director Niels Wittich post-race. "I think [I was] certainly surprised that it went back to green [after the yellow flag section], and it took quite a while then for the VSC to come out," the German told media including RacingNews365 . "In recent history, and, for example, Melbourne last year, after the Alpine crash, the red flag, it happened very, very quickly. "So certainly a bit different to how it's been handled in the past, so that was surprising... "I went to see Niels after the race. I can't say too much. "He felt that he handled it how he usually handles it, he didn't feel that it was different."
Hulkenberg visited race director over timing of VSC
The onboard footage of Hulkenberg navigating the scene of the crash shows he hit debris, which likely would have prevented him re-passing either Hamilton or Bearman, had the opportunity arisen, but he was clearly agitated by the timing of the VSC. "**** yellow," he said as he drove through the carbon fibre-strewn section of track. "****, I hit something big. It's gonna be [a] red flag. I hit something big with the front wing. With the display boards showing green flags heading into Turn 3, the Haas driver lost out to Hamilton and Bearman, with the VSC being confirmed moments later. "Man, how have they not, like? **** me, ****, ****, ****," Hulkenberg exclaimed. "NO! Such an idiot! I cannot believe that they can call the safety car... Wow... Oh man, I'm lost for words." Reflecting on the "missed opportunity", Hulkenberg was determined to move on and start afresh in Singapore - a track he has five points finishes at previously. "It looked like we're on for a happy end [in Baku], but in the last two laps things went south, and slipped through our hands, which obviously is very frustrating - missed opportunity. "But I've turned the page, moved on. So I don't really want to talk about too many details anymore," he added before joking: "Thanks for your understanding and cooperation."
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