Haas F1 team boss blown over by Hulkenberg: 'Was quite amazing'
General
Nico Hulkenberg has been around in Formula 1 for quite a while, but in recent years the German was invariably missing from the grid. Until this year, as Haas F1 gave him the chance for a comeback. In the first half of the season, Hulkenberg blew over his teammate and impressed many people, inside and outside the paddock. Guenther Steiner was also amazed by his performance.
After 2019, Hulkenberg disappeared from the king class of motorsport. Against Daniel Ricciardo, he had little to contribute and so had to leave the then Renault. The following year, he became a reserve driver at Racing Point (now Aston Martin) and impressed during two GPs he entered. In 2022, he again drove two races and again did so not without merit. Reason enough for Steiner to give him another chance.
Hulkenberg racing at speed
In the qualifying duel, Hulkenberg is 9-2 ahead of Kevin Magnussen and also scored more points (also 9 to 2). Speaking to GPblog and others, Steiner reveals that he enjoyed his 35-year-old driver. "Pretty impressed, you know. I mean, obviously, we took him for one reason because we know he can drive a race car. After three years as not a full-time driver, how long does it take him to catch up?"
Steiner soon came to the conclusion that Hulkenberg did not need any time at all for that. "It didn't take him any time because he was there from day one, you know, which is very good. It's actually very impressive. As a human being, he tries to help the team and that's what we wanted with the experience, what I always said, you know. Obviously, I think he was six or seven times in Q3 out of 11 races. That isn't too shabby, you know."
Quick adjustment
With 193 GP starts, Hulkenberg has an extraordinary amount of experience and his current employer notices that. "First of all, he surprised me how quick he was on the ball, you know, how quick he was integrated in the team. It was quite amazing how immediately he understood me. But again, we are talking, yes, experience. He was doing this a long time, you know. But also how he goes about racing, you know. He goes about it the right way. I mean, he puts the right effort in, not trying to overdo it, you know. But he knows exactly what he needs to do," Steiner is complimentary.