Hulkenberg: No Lotus deadline

Nico Hulkenberg says he hasn’t set a deadline for Lotus but could like “clarification or certainty” by the end of October…

Nico Hulkenberg says he hasn’t set a deadline for Lotus but could like “clarification or certainty” by the end of October.

Having missed out on a Ferrari drive, Hulkenberg has been linked to several teams for next season with Lotus believed to be leading the running.

Asked about how talks for next season were progressing, he revealed that he is hoping for some clarity on the situation before the end of this month.

“I’ve not set a deadline, that was a misunderstanding and someone didn’t lay it out correctly,” the 26-year-old said.

“But what I have said is that I would like clarification or certainty by the end of October.”

There are, however, concerns that Hulkenberg could lose out on a top level drive because of his size.

At 6ft, the German weighs in at more than his smaller rivals which could penalise him in light of next season’s minimum weight which many teams are struggling to meet in light of the new heavier V6 engines and the ERS.

Hulkenberg, though, says that hasn’t proven to be an issue in his negotiations.

“Nobody from any team has told me that weight or height is an issue. For me, this whole discussion is not worth having because I am what I am and I can’t change it.”