Nico Hulkenberg provides surprise reason behind disqualification

Nico Hulkenberg has provided insight into his disqualification from the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend.

The Stake driver crossed the line in 13th place but was soon thrown out of the results after his car's plank was found to have excessive wear.

Hulkenberg became the fourth driver to be disqualified in the opening four rounds after a trio of competitors were excluded at the Chinese Grand Prix.

While a set-up misjudgement was the likely culprit behind the excessive wear, Hulkenberg suggested the wind intensity also played a role.

“We just ended up with too much wear,” Hulkenberg told media including RacingNews365. “It's as simple as that, really.

“It's always that balance you need to find. I think the headwind picked up a little bit for qualifying and the race.

“There was more headwind on the main straight which obviously pushes the car down more.”

Hulk wants 'seamless' Stake

Hulkenberg opened his current campaign with a surprise seventh-place result in Australia as Stake looked to recover from a dismal season in 2024.

As he aims to secure another top-10 finish going forward, Hulkenberg suggested Stake is not far from making a breakthrough.

“We need things to come our way, we need to be perfect and seamless in every aspect,” Hulkenberg said.

“Strategy, pit stops, all the execution bits. I think we're not super far away, but it's missing a step from that. 

“It's a little bit track dependent and on conditions. We're not far. As everyone is, we need to keep pushing. We need to keep finding and adding stuff, because everyone is doing that.”