Nico Hulkenberg could be about to make his much anticipated return to the grid in 2023 with the American F1 outfit HAAS.
Rumours have been circling for a while that Mick Schumacher’s seat at the team was in jeopardy, with front runner to replace him being Nico Hulkenberg.
Well according to Jack Plooij of Ziggo sport, the deal is done and the announcement will follow on Thursday, before the penultimate race of the season in Brazil.
Nico Hulkenberg has been a fan favourite substitute for the last 3 season’s. He has stepped up to the plate multiple times to cover for COVID related illnesses, the latest being the first 2 races of the season with Aston Martin covering for Sebastian Vettel.
The news will be bad for fellow German and current HAAS pilot Mick Schumacher, who was hoping his performance throughout the latter part of the season would help him remain with the team.
Gene Haas was recently quoted as saying…
“I think Mick has got a lot of potential but you know he costs a fortune and he’s wrecked a lot of cars that have cost us a lot of money that we just don’t have. Now, if you bring us some points, and you are (Max) Verstappen and you wreck cars, we’ll deal with it. But when you are in the back and you wreck cars, that’s very difficult.”
Gene on Mick
Nico Hulkenberg currently holds a couple of unenviable records. He holds the record of most race starts without a podium (181) & Most points for a driver without a win (521).
Do you think his return would end his long run of bad luck? Is this the correct decision for the team? Let us know in the comments.