German driver Nico Hulkenberg will replace his compatriot Mick Schumacher at Haas in the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship, the American team announced on Wednesday.
At 35, Hulkenberg returns full-time to Formula 1, where he left in 2019, having since driven five races as a fill-in driver. The most recent took place this year, with Hulkenberg replacing Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin for the first two races this season.
The German driver has a total of 181 Grand Prix contested, by Williams, Force India, Sauber, Renault, Racing Point and Aston Martin, and holds the record for the most races started without winning a podium.
For the last two seasons, he was a reserve driver for Aston Martin.
We are pleased to welcome @HulkHulkenberg to the Haas F1 Team as our driver for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 season, alongside Kevin Magnussen.#HaasF1 https://t.co/GfyiUWLlYV
– Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) November 17, 2022
“The experience and knowledge he brings to the team is evident,” acknowledged Haas sporting director, Italian Günther Steiner.
Hulkenberg will replace Mick Schumacher, son of the seven-time world champion, whose departure was announced this morning.
Schumacher leaves the team after two seasons, where he scored less than a third of Haas’s points and with some spectacular accidents that weighed down the team’s accounts.
In a message posted on social networks, Mick Schumacher was “disappointed with the decision to [a equipa] not renew the contract”, but even so, he thanked “the opportunity” that he has been given and assured that “he will continue fighting to return to Formula 1”.
The season ends this weekend in Abu Dhabi.
Source: TSF
