Returning Hülkenberg: I feel like I never left F1. What did Haas boss Guenther Steiner say about him?

The American Haas team officially announced the end of Mick Schumacher on Thursday morning, with returnee Nico Hülkenberg taking his seat next season. He is no newcomer and Haas bosses believe the experienced driver will give them the knowledge and ability needed to score the coveted points.

There has been speculation about Schumacher’s end at Haas for a long time, but now it has been officially confirmed and the returning Hülkenberg will take his place from next season.

He is certainly no newcomer to Formula 1. He made his debut in 2010 when he raced for Williams. After that, he moved to Force India, where he only took part in Friday practice sessions in 2011.

However, he raced again in 2012 and finished 11th in the final Drivers’ Championship standings with 63 points. For the 2013 season, however, he joined Sauber, where he rode out 53 points and finished the year in tenth position.

He spent the 2014 to 2016 seasons back at Force India, defending the Renault colours in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

In 2020, he was a reserve driver at Racing Point (now Aston Martin – ed.), but he still contested 3 races and scored 10 points.

He retained this role for the 2021 season, and then for this year’s season as well. Just this year, Hülkenberg made two more starts, filling in for the coronavirus-infected Sebastian Vettel in the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.

He has a total of 181 Formula One starts to his credit, scoring 521 points, taking pole position once and setting the fastest lap twice.

Hülkenberg, on the other hand, has never won a race. He also “took care of” the negative F1 record – the German driver still hasn’t reached even one podium.

Haas then announced in an official press release that the 35-year-old will even take part in Tuesday’s test in Abu Dhabi.

Hülkenberg’s statement

“I am very happy to be moving into the racing seat full-time with the Haas F1 team in 2023. I feel like I will never really leave Formula 1,” Hülkenberg said in an official press statement.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do what I love most again and I want to thank Gene Haas and Guenther Steiner for their trust. We have our work cut out for us to be able to compete with all the other teams in the midfield, and I can’t wait to join the battle again,” he added.

Words from the Haas team boss

“The experience and knowledge that Nico brings to the team is clearly evident. He has nearly 200 F1 starts under his belt and a reputation as a great qualifier and a solid and reliable driver,” Steiner also said in the same press release.

“These are qualities that, combined with Kevin Magnussen’s experience, give us a very reliable and experienced driver line-up that we believe will help propel the team to higher ranks, ” the Haas boss explained.

“This is of course our goal and this ambition was the reason for Nico’s return to Formula 1. He shares our vision and can be a key aspect, along with the rest of the team, in building on the foundations we laid this year in our return to the points battle,” Steiner also said in that press release,” he concluded.

Sources