F1: Hulkenberg Surprised To Be Fourth In Suzuka

Formula 1

F1: Hulkenberg Surprised To Be Fourth In Suzuka

Nico Hulkenberg says the Force India car still needs to improve on high-fuel runs in Japan...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted October 05, 2012 Suzuka (JPN)

Nico Hulkenberg is looking for more consistency from his Force India car in Japan. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Nico Hulkenberg admits he is surprised to be as high as fourth at Suzuka Friday after Force India expected to struggle at the Japanese venue.

Hulkenberg made up for a disappointing day for teammate Paul Di Resta, who crashed in FP2.

“Today was a little bit of a surprise, to be honest,” Hulkenberg told SPEED.com. “On low fuel we really looked competitive today. The high fuel runs, I think we have some more work to do.

“If you look just at the time sheet, it looks good. But as I said, the high fuel runs didn’t look as good in relation to the low fuel. Maybe we can improve there a little bit. It’s a good starting point, but our target as usual is to get points on Sunday.”

Meanwhile, the battle between Hulkenberg and Di Resta is being closely watched, with both men linked to a possible future at Ferrari. Hulkenberg says he’s not worried about the extra attention.

“It’s been like that from the first race,” the German said. “I’m used to it now. We’re both quick, we’re very competitive, and we’re always quick, like you say. It’s a nice battle with Paul, a good challenge.

“If you beat your teammate and people rate your teammate well, then it’s a good achievement for yourself. You just get on with your job.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.