HULKENBERG COMPLETES INDYCAR TEST

Former Formula 1 driver and Le Mans 24 Hour winner Nico Hulkenberg has completed an IndyCar test with McLaren Arrow SP.

The German participated in a driver evaluation session with the team at Barber Motorsport Park where he jumped behind the wheel of Felix Rosenqvist’s #7 machine.

The 34-year-old F1 veteran completed over 100 laps of the 3.83km circuit throughout the day.

Hulkenberg was not the only driver in action, he shared the tarmac with former IndyCar Series winner and Indy 500 victor Ryan Hunter-Reay who cut laps in a Ed Carpenter Racing machine.

Three Indy Lights drivers also tested, Kyle Kirkwood and Devlin DeFrancesco drove the #26 and #29 Andretti Autosport cars, while David Malukas was in the #18 Dale Coyne Racing machine.

Malukas not only set the most laps with 136, but he was also the fastest driver of the day, completing the circuit in 1m 06.398s.

American veteran Hunter-Reay ended up exactly 0.3s behind in second and ahead of the two Andretti Autosport men, DeFranceso in third and Kirkwood fourth.

Despite Hulkenberg’s fastest time being 1.057s slower than Malukas, it was a positive day, he completed the second most laps of anyone with 108.

Both McLaren Arrow SP seats are taken for the 2022 IndyCar season with both Pato O’Ward and Rosenqvist being retained for next season.

However, McLaren Racing team principal Zak Brown told IndyCar reporters at Laguna Seca that the team will expand “for sure” to three full-time cars in 2023, as well as this the American indicated that an additional entry could be fielded “at some point in ’22.”

Mexican O’Ward has finished fourth and third, respectively in the last two IndyCar seasons, while Rosenqvist is an IndyCar race winner.

The 179-time Grand Prix starter has put himself as a contender for this seat in 2022 and beyond.

If he gets a drive, Hulkenberg will join fellow former ex-f1 drivers Romain Grosjean, Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi on the grid.

Hulkenberg won the Formula BMW championship in 2005, as well as the 2006-07 A1 Grand Prix Series and Formula 3 Euro Series in 2008.

His momentum continued when he won the second tier GP2 Series in his debut season, only one of five drivers to achieve this feat.

Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Charles Leclerc and George Russell are the only others.

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