Hulkenberg admits Ferrari talks in 2009

Nico Hulkenberg has revealed that talks earlier this year could have led to his Formula One race debut at the wheel of Ferrari's 2009 car.

In the wake of Felipe Massa's Hungary accident and the demise of his initial replacements Michael Schumacher and Luca Badoer, 22-year-old Hulkenberg's name was among the many linked with the cockpit.

The German, who is the new GP2 champion, has now told the SID news agency that the reports of talks with the famous Italian team were correct.

"There was certainly interest and enquiries," said Hulkenberg, who will make his F1 debut in 2010 with Williams and will be in action for the British team this week at Jerez.

"On one hand I was very eager to do it," he admitted, "but on the other hand it would have been two half-stories: GP2 and Formula One.

"In the end I was able to focus on GP2 and win the title and now I enter F1 with the appropriate preparation. It's probably good that it did not work out," said Hulkenberg.