Hülkenberg, a future champion according to Williams

Sir Frank Williams, the boss of the Williams team, praised the recent performances of the German driver and also said he would like to see him win the world championship title with his team, even though there are ongoing speculations about his future at Williams: indeed, Hülkenberg could lose his seat to Pastor Maldonado.

The Venezuelan, GP2 champion (succeeding Hülkenberg), who will test the Williams after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, has increased uncertainty about the German’s position within the team. Williams has lost some sponsors for 2011, and Maldonado has personal funds to bring to an F1 team.

But in a recent interview with the BBC, Williams said that Nico Hülkenberg has become a good prospect in recent months.

He was a bit disappointing maybe during the first races. Perhaps he was too cautious. But now he has become very competitive and I think we’re just seeing the beginning of something exceptional. He’s one of those drivers, a bit like Lewis Hamilton, who moved from a “Formula B” to a “Formula A” and won that formula, then moved from “Formula A” to another formula and won it. And in a good team – hopefully ours – he will win the Formula 1 World Championship.

When asked if he hopes to see Hülkenberg next year, he replies, “Absolutely, we hope for that.”

In Korea last weekend, technical chief Patrick Head also paid tribute to the German driver, saying he had fully justified his place in F1 but cut short any discussion about signing him for next year.

Williams also praised his other driver, Rubens Barrichello.

He has enormous experience. He is undoubtedly the most experienced driver on the grid. His technique is quite understated. He likes to be told he’s a good driver. But he is very good, so we have no problem saying that we believe in him.