Nico Hulkenberg could step into any of the top three teams and immediate win races, former teammate Carlos Sainz has claimed.
The German has always been rated very highly during his career but, having spent all his career at midfield teams, holds the unwanted record for the most race starts without a podium at 156.
Talks with Ferrari over a seat in 2014 was the closest Hulkenberg came but instead, he would remain at Force India before moving to Renault in 2017, where Sainz would join him from the US Grand Prix.
“The year that I came to Renault, Nico was having already a very strong year,” the Spaniard commented to Motorsport.com. “I saw him performing at the highest level I’ve seen a driver perform in the midfield for years.
“For me, he’s one of those guys that you give him a Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull he’d win races straight away. Unfortunately, you guys are not able to see it, not able to calculate it as Formula 1 works like that.”
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For this season, Hulkenberg faces his toughest F1 challenge alongside Daniel Ricciardo, though even the Australian is aware of the calibre he possesses.
Meanwhile, Sainz is heading for his third different team in F1 but says he leaves Renault a better driver after racing against the 31-year-old.
“Nico is one of those guys that I’ve learned a lot from and I’m going to McLaren with that experience, having shared a team with one of the most talented drivers in the grid right now,” he stated.
During their time together, Hulkenberg was also seen to largely have the better of the second-generation racer, finishing 16 points ahead in seventh in the Drivers’ standings in 2018.
“I’m not entirely happy [with] the amount of points I got in my good weekends,” Sainz admitted. “The amount of points I get at the end of the season is not the amount that I think I deserve or the amount that I wish for.”