autoevolution
 

The Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Chose Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick Schumacher

As you probably found out, it has been confirmed that Mick Schumacher will not race for Haas in 2023. The American team chose the experience of Nico Hulkenberg over his German compatriot.
The Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick Schumacher 11 photos
Photo: Haas F1 Team/Twitter
The Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick SchumacherThe Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick SchumacherThe Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick SchumacherThe Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick SchumacherThe Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick SchumacherThe Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick SchumacherThe Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick SchumacherThe Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick SchumacherThe Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick SchumacherThe Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick Schumacher
Apparently, it was inevitable because Hulkenberg was linked with a return to F1 since the end of summer. Team owner Gene Haas and team manager Gunther Steiner gave Schumacher every chance to prove his worth but ultimately decided not to keep him on for a considerable number of reasons, both on and off the track.

On the track, Mick's performance level has not been consistently good enough to convince Gene Haas and Gunther Steiner he is worth the effort. Schumacher's performance peaks have been very good, but the problem is that his peaks are not consistent. Take the Brazilian Grand Prix, for example, where Kevin Magnussen (the other Haas driver) claimed a shock pole position, and Mick qualified dead last. In addition, in the 2022 season, he scored points only twice at the British and Austrian Grand Prix. As a result, he gathered only 12 points, while Kevin had more than double the points. It's true that the German car gave up on him on specific occasions when he could grab more top-ten finishes, but that can be said about Magnussen, too.

Given his inconsistency and struggles to put together complete weekends, Mick Schumacher would have needed to show incredible and extraordinarily high levels of performance in order to convince the Haas managers to keep hold of him. However, the American team considered that, most of the time, the German driver was playing catch-up with Kevin. Besides, he had a lot of crashes, some of which were stupid. In 2022, he had two significant shunts in the qualifying session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the race around the Monte Carlo streets.

Those crashes put a dent in the Haas budget for this season and spare supplies. As a result, the American team decided not to rebuild the car for the race in Jeddah. Later on, he aquaplaned and crashed in FP1 at the Suzuka track, and I believe that was the final nail in the coffin for the son of the seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.

The Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick Schumacher
Photo: Haas F1 Team/Twitter
These were all on-track incidents, but now let's talk a little about the off-track situation. As you know, every driver has their own management and support network. Mick's team often had different thoughts, perspectives, and objectives from the American team, which affected the relationship between the two sides. Though things have been much, much better lately, the Formula 1 world is a result-based business, so if the results are not there, then the rest is for nothing.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not here to talk bad or to "destroy" Mick with my words. Actually, I like him, and I think he still has a lot of things to prove. One thing Schumacher has on his side is youth. He completed only two seasons in F1, with the first being in one of the worst Formula 1 cars ever built. Being only 23 years old, he has plenty of time to improve, so you could say Haas has been impatient. From his point of view, he thinks that he did enough to prove his value at the pinnacle of motorsport, so you see, it's kind of a delicate situation here.

It's true that he made a lot of improvements, but the question is whether he can continue to make those gains if given further chances in Formula 1. While it won't happen with Haas, those signs, combined with the fact that he is such a friendly and likable character, show he is an unpolished diamond. However, there is a slight problem here. Usually, if a driver hasn't made the most of the first opportunity in F1, he would never receive that second call in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Now that we are done with Mick, let's move on to the other German driver in this article and why Haas chose Hulkenberg, the driver who completed the most races without stepping onto the podium. Well, the answer is quite simple, performance.

The Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick Schumacher
Photo: Haas F1 Team/Twitter
Nico Hulkenberg spent all his career in midfield-tier teams, and he is a proven point scorer, always making the most of any situation. Combine him with Magnussen (another proven point scorer), and Haas is in contention for P6 or even fifth in the constructors' championship. Every position higher in F1 means more money, which is more than welcome for a small team like the American one.

"The experience and knowledge base Nico brings to the team is clear to see – with nearly 200 career starts in Formula 1 – and a reputation as being a great qualifier and a solid, reliable racer. These are attributes, which when you pair them together with Kevin Magnussen's experience, gives us a very credible and well-seasoned driver line-up which we believe will help push the team onwards up the grid," said team principal Gunther Steiner.

While Nico has been on the sideline for the past three years after Renault dropped him in favor of Esteban Ocon, he performed exceptionally well in his stand-in appearances for Racing Point/Aston Martin. All those results were without any profound and extensive preparation, so he would definitely gain his sharpness once he builds some mileage in an actual F1 car rather than a simulator.

Besides, Hukenberg's perspective and objectives, alongside his management team, match the desires of Gene Haas and Gunther Steiner. "That's obviously the goal and it was that ambition that has prompted Nico's return to Formula 1 – he shares our vision and can be a key player together with the rest of the team in building on the foundations we've laid this year with our return to the points battle."

Still, the reason Haas chose Nico Hulkenberg is to see how determined he is to have another crack at F1 and his desire to put all his energy and resources into it. Hülkenberg will start work for Haas F1 Team on Tuesday, 22nd November participating in the end-of-season Formula 1 test hosted in Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit – Hülkenberg piloting this season's VF-22 alongside the team's test and reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi in the second car.

The Reasons Why Haas F1 Team Had Chosen Nico Hulkenberg Over Mick Schumacher
Photo: Haas F1 Team/Twitter
For me, it's funny to think that Hulkenberg and Magnussen will be teammates after their legendary clash at the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix post-race interviews where the Danish driver told something funny to the German driver. While I can replicate their exchange here, you can find that incident everywhere on the internet. However, Kevin made it clear repeatedly that he has no problem with Nico.

While Mick's reputation suffered a lot, he will most definitely receive a reserve driver role. Lately, Mercedes have shown interest in signing him, so that's an excellent option to keep his F1 dreams alive. Meanwhile, Nico and Kevin, combined with a more competitive Haas car for 2023, could create some astonishing and interesting results next season. For now, all we can do is wait until March.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
press release
About the author: Silvian Irimia
Silvian Irimia profile photo

Silvian may be the youngest member of our team, being born in the 2000s, but you won't find someone more passionate than him when it comes to motorsport. An automotive engineer by trade, Silvian considers the Ferrari F50 his favorite car, with the original Lamborghini Countach a close second.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories