Huelkenberg concentrating on job in hand

His name has been bandied about by the worldwide media in recent weeks, which is a testament to his rising star.

But as talk swirls about Nico Huelkenberg's future, the German driver insists he is 100 per cent focused on his job with the Sauber Formula One team.

Asked yesterday if his head is being turned by all the talk about a move to a higher profile team, Huelkenberg, who is widely regarded as the standout performer in midfield for several years, replied: "Not at all. It's not the first time I've been in a situation like this.

"I've had it previously and the minute I go into a meeting with engineers or I sit in the car, the focus is 100 per cent on what I have to do, and the driving."

The 26-year-old, in town for the Formula One SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was speaking on the sidelines of NEC's Meet the Sauber F1 Team Networking Party at Marina Mandarin yesterday.

Huelkenberg had been one of three contenders tipped to replace the retiring Mark Webber at world champions Red Bull.

But the Austrian team plumped for a driver from their in-house programme, Daniel Ricciardo of Toro Rosso, instead.

A week later, Ferrari announced that 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen was returning to the fold, leaving a gaping hole at Lotus.

Now, Huelkenberg is reportedly up against Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who will be replaced by Raikkonen at the Scuderia, for the chance to represent one of the sport's more fabled brands. To his credit, despite the potential for distraction, he has kept his head down and even produced a superb performance at the Italian Grand Prix the weekend before last, qualifying third and finishing fifth - behind only the Red Bulls and Ferraris.

He explained: "Outside the car of course you think of the future and you are having conversations, but the minute you are at the race track, the focus is back to where it needs to be."

This week, that is on the Marina Bay Street Circuit. But Huelkenberg is realistic about his chances of repeating his Monza form in Singapore as the two are contrasting circuits, with the Italian version known for its high-speed, low-downforce nature whereas cars require a high-downforce set-up to tackle the Marina Bay's narrow, twisting layout.

The German, who finished 14th here last year when he was with Force India, said: "Monza was more to our taste. To repeat what we did at Monza is quite difficult to be honest."

But he remains hopeful that Sauber's upgrades for the remainder of the season, although not major, will allow them to "challenge for points at least, be in and around the top 10".

His team-mate, Esteban Gutierrez meanwhile, has slightly more modest aims.

The affable Mexican rookie, who has yet to gain a point this season, is hoping to improve his qualifying performance.

The 22-year-old, who finished third in the GP2 series last year, has consistently performed far better in a race than in the single lap, sometimes moving up by as much as seven spots.

Admitting that he has found it a bit of a struggle to make the leap from GP2, which is the feeder series to F1, to the top level, he said: "It has taken me some time to adapt to certain things and obviously getting to know the work within the team, the communication with the engineers. In terms of car understanding, it took me probably half a year."

He is more confident, he says, in the car now. Hopefully, for him and Sauber, that will show come the weekend.

yulin@sph.com.sg

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