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Nico Hulkenberg believes if it wasn’t him, “someone else” would have replaced Mick Schumacher at Haas
The Formula One 2023 season will see the return of Nico Hulkenberg to the grid. This will be the German driverโs first full season at the pinnacle of motorsport since 2019. Although the highly experienced driver is no stranger to the F1 grid, having been dubbed the โsuper subโ throughout these Covid-effected seasons.
In 2020, Hulkenberg replaced Sergio Perez at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone. That year, he also raced at the Eifel Grand Prix, hosted at the Nรผrburgring, where he replaced Perezโs teammate, Lance Stroll. Hulkenberg found his services required once again in 2022 when he replaced Sebastian Vettel for the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races.
Last year proved difficult for Mick Schumacher, who suffered major accidents during the Saudi Arabian and Monaco Grand Prix. Haas elected to not renew the German driverโs contract, and instead signed experienced racer Hulkenberg. Schumacher will not feature on the Formula One grid in 2023, instead signing with Mercedes as their reserve driver.
Now that the dust has settled, Hulkenberg has opened up to RTL on his return to Formula One.
Hulkenberg on replacing Schumacher at Haas
In the eyes of the more experienced German, Hulkenberg believes that no matter what, 2022 would have been Schumacherโs final year at Haas. Hulkenberg believes:
โThe story is now what it is. If it hadnโt been me, maybe it would have been someone else.โ
The German also admits that he โnever had a real relationship,โ with his fellow countryman. Hulkenberg states that they โhavenโt spoken to each other since,โ and โnever really exchanged ideas before.โ
Was the writing always on the wall for Schumacher and his future with Haas?
How are preparations going for Hulkenbergโs 2023 comeback?
Moving on from his relationship, or lack thereof, with Schumacher, Hulkenberg says preparations for next season โare going well.โ He continued:
โIt feels good to go back in. The volume and intensity in training have increased again, so the last few years have been more relaxed. It feels good to get up in the morning, feel the body.โ
Hulkenberg goes on to explain the โstrainโ felt if you donโt drive a Formula One car for some time. The German goes as far as saying that โyou can train like a world championโ but โeveryone suffersโ if you have a break.
Famously, Hulkenberg holds the F1 record for the most race starts without achieving a podium. We saw Kevin Magnussen achieve his, and Haasโs, first pole position last year. What can we expect from Hulkenberg in 2023?
Feature Image Credit: @HaasF1Team via Twitter