What now for Nico Hulkenberg as the 2014 pieces finally fall into place?

Nico Hulkenberg was probably the man most disappointed by the news of Kimi Raikkonen's recruitment to Ferrari and the confirmation of Fernando Alonso's continuation there.

Although the minimum weight of the 2014 cars has been increased, the early indications are that the extra weight of the turbo and ERS systems and associated cooling is going to more than account for the extra 43kg allowed by the regulations. Because the total weight includes the driver, in theory he should not be disadvantaged by his weight, but if the driver/car combined weight is under the minimum, then the car can be brought up to the limit with ballast - and this gives the advantage of allowing that weight to be placed where it is most advantageous to the car's centre of gravity and front/rear weight distribution. This can be varied from track to track, giving extra flexibility to the car's set up. But if the driver's weight is such that combined with that of the car, less (or no) ballast can be used, then it's an obvious disadvantage. The current generation of cars can generally be built light enough that even the heavier drivers can use ballast, but that may not be the case next year. Hulkenberg needs to convince teams that the skills he brings more than out-weigh whatever time loss the lack of moveable ballast costs. It would be a sad indictment of the knots F1 has tied itself in if 'The Hulk' is not on the 2014 grid. MH