Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko recalled how Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg were head-to-head for a Red Bull seat in 2021.

And just as the point of making a decision reached the critical stage, Perez went and took his first grand prix with in Bahrain driving for Racing Point, which convinced Red Bull to go with him over Hulkenberg.

Nico Hulkenberg came close to Red Bull seat

Red Bull opted to demote Alex Albon to reserve driver following a challenging 2020 campaign as team-mate to Max Verstappen, and F1 veterans Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg represented intriguing options.

Perez had arguably just delivered the best season of his Formula 1 career – capped off by winning the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix – but would not be retained as Racing Point morphed into Aston Martin, while Hulkenberg starred in stand-in appearances for the team, qualifying third at Silverstone and finishing the 70th Anniversary GP in P7, before scoring points again at the Eifel Grand Prix.

But, when it came to making the decision, Perez delivered his first F1 victory at just the right time.

Perez would spend four seasons as Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate, but departed after the 2024 campaign following an alarming collapse in form, Perez the latest driver to wilt as Verstappen’s team-mate.

Speaking about Hulkenberg to Sky Deutschland, Marko said: “Maybe it’s a good thing that he didn’t get the seat next to Max anyway.

“He was in discussions. Then Perez won the race in Bahrain, which was just in the decision-making phase and then tipped the scales.”

Having spent the following two seasons as Aston Martin reserve, Hulkenberg returned to the F1 grid with Haas in 2023, and for F1 2025, agreed a return to Sauber, the team which will become Audi F1 from 2026.

There is the potential for a Red Bull seat to open up again with Yuki Tsunoda now struggling alongside Verstappen, but Marko does not believe this is a seat which Hulkenberg should target.

“I have to say, he did very well after his unexpected comeback,” Marko noted.

“He has a long-term contract with Sauber/Audi. That’s something I wouldn’t give up either.”

Latest F1 2025 head-to-head standings

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

Joining a Sauber team which finished bottom of the 2024 Constructors’ standings, Hulkenberg has already put 20 points on the board in F1 2025 with Sauber, scoring in back-to-back races with a P5 in Spain and P8 in Canada.

And Hulkenberg gave the credit to Sauber’s floor upgrade which arrived in Spain, one which has seemingly unlocked a chunk of performance.

Speaking to the media after finishing eighth in Canada, Hulkenberg said: “Feels good. Feels very positive. Very happy, of course, to continue that trend and carry the momentum into here and onwards from here.

“I think, at the end of the day, it’s down to the performance upgrade. It’s showing some good performance and promise in the race again, I think more maybe than than in qualy.

“It was a good, clean race. First lap was decent. That was more or less in my position, but Franco [Colapinto] and Alex [Albon], they were having a go at each other and they had a problem in Turn 8/9, both went a bit deep, so I managed to get them on the exit, which was obviously pretty handy, and I think also pretty key for the race to just be ahead, to then manage my tyres from there on and just bring that one in.

“I think all the work from the last six months is kind of paying off a bit. And you see it paying dividends, which is obviously a rewarding feeling and very nice and then how it should be.

“So, we need to keep doing what we’re doing. And in the meantime, hopefully we can find a bit more performance in the next couple of weeks.”

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