Formula One podcast: Nico Hulkenberg reveals the light-hearted side of the sport

Formula One driver Nico Hulkenberg, who drove for Force India in 2016, spoke to Inside Line F1 Podcast about the season gone by. With Formula One enjoying its off-season, the podcast will catch up with a few drivers to talk about the year that was. [caption id=“attachment_3156038” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Nico Hulkenberg. AFP[/caption] This week, we have the driver nicknamed ‘Hulk’ talking to us, while we also have his former teammate Sergio Perez lined up for next week. While all the F1 focus has been on one Nico World Champion Rosberg, we have the the other Nico with us on the podcast. The driver, in a particularly light-hearted mood, spoke about his funny radio messages, the various jokes in the sport and even shared a hilarious incident with Juan Pablo Montoya back in Austria in 2001, and more. The full interview is available on the podcast below. Meanwhile, we also discuss Mercedes’ overdrive to find Nico Rosberg’s replacement and cashing in on the positive PR around it. Strangely enough, ‘overtaking’ was not added as a skill in their much-publicised advert for a Formula 1 driver. Get the hint? If Fernando Alonso doesn’t fill the vacant Mercedes cockpit, does it indicate a decline in Bernie Ecclestone’s control over the sport? And in no way is Valtteri Bottas a brave choice, Mr. Toto Wolff. We hope that all the powers combine bring to us a Hamilton-Alonso pairing in 2017. But the biggest disappointment in this saga has been Flavio Briatore, tune in to know why. Also, what’s with the Mercedes drivers and their obsession with acting? First, Lewis Hamilton, and now Nico Rosberg is keen on exploring the ‘action hero genre’. But we think that he has the superpower of being a linguist. Last we counted, his fluency extended across English, German, Italian, Spanish and even Arabic. But the one driver who could go from zero to hero in this case is Pascal Wehrlein. From no contract to a contract with the World Champion team, Mercedes. No episode is ever complete without talking about Max Verstappen and his overtakes. To no one’s surprise, he has won the FIA ‘Action of the Year’ award, and we talk about his  78 overtaking moves (also the highest in class) and him being the only driver to have overtaken Sebastian Vettel in the 2016 season. Tune in for the full podcast here:  The Inside Line F1 Podcast is available on iTunes or Audio Boom for more news and interviews