Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return

After three years as a reserve driver, Nico Hulkenberg returns to frontline Formula 1 duty with Haas this season following what was one of the most surprising twists of a rollercoaster silly season.

Given his absence from a regular race seat, Hulkenberg’s time seemed to have passed, something that the German himself had acknowledged. But, when Gene Haas and Gunther Steiner decided to drop Mick Schumacher and look for experience rather than youth for 2023, there was a very short list of possible candidates. Technical partner Ferrari lobbied hard for Antonio Giovinazzi, but any lingering hopes that the Italian had went up in smoke when he crashed heavily at the start of FP1 at October’s United States Grand Prix.

Instead, the pieces fell into place for Hulkenberg. His case was helped by the fact that COVID-19 misfortune for others had given him a few precious chances to race for Racing Point and Aston Martin, including the first two events of the 2022 season in Bahrain and Jeddah.

“I think it was crucial,” he says of those stand-in outings. “Obviously in 2021 I didn’t have any opportunities. But the ones in 2020 were absolutely crucial to put my card down again, to remind team principals and people around the paddock that there’s still some performance in me.”

A possible shot at a full-time comeback appeared to arise when Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement in July. As Aston Martin’s reserve, Hulkenberg was an obvious guy for the team to fall back on for 2023, but instead team owner Lawrence Stroll moved quickly to grab Fernando Alonso.

“That happened as we went into the summer break,” says Hulkenberg. “I had some hope. And there were indications from some people in the team that there was perhaps an opportunity, but that disappeared very quickly again. I got the message from the team that they had reached an agreement with Fernando.”

Alonso’s departure and the Oscar Piastri controversy in turn freed up a slot at Alpine. Given Hulkenberg’s experience with the former Renault squad from 2017-19 and his relationship from Force India with boss Otmar Szafnauer, he appeared to have a chance. But the team soon turned its focus to Pierre Gasly.

Since losing a full-time F1 drive at the end of 2019, Hulkenberg has made four race starts as a stand-in

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“I was in contact with Otmar, but I quickly understood that it was not going to happen, that it was not a realistic opportunity,” adds Hulkenberg. “A different name now, but the team is obviously the same as Renault back then. And I think they just felt they wanted someone totally new that had never been with the team prior.”

Fortunately for Hulkenberg, a third opportunity was emerging at Haas, a team he’d talked to briefly before its F1 debut in 2016. Looking to replace Schumacher, Steiner got in touch.

“It was after the summer break, some time around then,” explains Hulkenberg. “I didn’t know him very well, I knew him from the paddock and from chats on a few flights together. It happened pretty naturally and organically. There were some other people involved as well. I don’t really have a manager, but I have some advisors and some other people that help me, and they knew Gunther. And somehow a conversation started.”

Did Hulkenberg have to sell himself to Steiner, and convince him that he was the right man to partner Kevin Magnussen?

"I still feel the burning desire to go and compete, to go and race, look for the competition" Nico Hulkenberg

“Well, there was an element of that,” he reflects. “They were still looking at Mick, giving him time, being fair to him, having shown some lights of good performance that he could build on. So that’s why it all took so long in the end.

“In the situation that I’m in, because obviously for three years I was kind of half out, whatever you want to call it, I had to do some work, some convincing words, come with some facts and get into his head. I feel very fresh, in a very good and positive mindset – which was not always the case. And therefore I have no concerns about that.”

In his earlier career, Hulkenberg never had a truly competitive car, and indeed famously he has never even earned a podium. So what are his expectations with Haas?

“At the end of the day, it’s F1,” he philosophises. “There are only so many opportunities, and I wasn’t that spoiled for choice! But I still feel the burning desire to go and compete, to go and race, look for the competition.

Hulkenberg replaces Schumacher in the Haas line-up for 2023

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

“It’s obviously a private team and a smaller team, but there are, I believe, things that can be improved, and you can challenge for good results and for points. And ultimately as a racer that’s what I want, and what I love to do.”

The good news is that Haas made decent progress last year, rising from a point-less last in 2021 to eighth in the constructors’ table, and in the new cost-cap era smaller teams can at least compete.

“I guess the whole field seems more compact,” continues Hulkenberg. “There are definitely opportunities, and even after a bad qualifying you can still come through and have a good result. Racing and overtaking is more possible with these new cars. It doesn’t take much difference and then you can be three or four positions ahead. You’ve got to dig deep, head down, and work hard.”

Inevitably much has been made of the Hulkenberg/Magnussen combination given their infamous “suck my balls” confrontation at the 2017 Hungarian GP – after which they didn’t speak to each other for five years.

“It’s true, but he’s not the only one,” Hulkenberg smiles. “There are other drivers I haven’t talked much with! I actually broke the ice in Bahrain on the grid. I went to him, gave him my hand and said his exact words, and he found that quite amusing. And since then we started talking more.

“That’s in the past, and there are going to be no problems. Obviously we both drive and fight for our careers, but at the same time we’re going to race for the team.”

Has Magnussen’s unexpected return from the F1 wilderness, replacing Nikita Mazepin on the eve of the 2022 campaign and then scoring points first time out, served as some sort of inspiration?

PLUS: What next for the Haas F1 revival story?

“I wouldn’t say so,” is Hulkenberg's response. “I think a little bit different circumstances for him, because obviously how he came back was a different story, let’s say. But then again, he came in and he did pretty well straight away.”

As he noted earlier, Hulkenberg is now in a good headspace. He wasn’t happy when he left Renault at the end of 2019, but three years on the sidelines, with time to do other stuff – not least getting married and becoming a father – have been beneficial, as breaks often are for drivers.

“It’s been very positive for me,” he says. “Obviously, I can only talk about my own case. But yeah, 2019 was not always great. I felt I wanted time away at that point. And then, once you step away, you also develop a different understanding and new perspectives on how things went, what you’ve done. You reflect on many things, and process the whole thing.

Hulkenberg got his first outing for Haas at the post-season Abu Dhabi test in November

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“Even a winter break, you think three months is a lot – it’s actually not, because you’re still connected, you still do work. And the time properly away has helped me a lot.”

The reserve job, doing just enough to keep him in the game, proved to be a good compromise: “It was a very different role to what I used to do. If you’re not in the car, if you’re not in the hot seat, and you don’t have to perform day in, day out, it’s a very different feeling. You’re much more relaxed, because you just cut out the bad days that you get in the car.

“So, from that point of view that’s been relaxed, but at the same time you miss what you get from racing, the excitement, the thrill, the kick. And that’s also the feeling that prevailed, that I want to go back, and I want to do this for some more time.”

At 35, Hulkenberg is just 48 days younger than countryman Vettel, who has opted for retirement. You could perhaps draw parallels with the likes of Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso, all of whom extended their F1 careers by taking two or three years out and returning refreshed.

“In that respect I’m kind of proud to have achieved that, to come back into a full-time drive after three years out of F1,” says Hulkenberg. “Like you say, I join a pretty exclusive club there – Michael, Fernando, Kimi, these are world champions. I don’t have that to my name. So to have done that, and people still having trust and faith in me, I think is also a nice achievement.”

"When you reflect on things, when you see things from a different angle, there are certainly some things that I will change how I will do them in the future" Nico Hulkenberg

Hulkenberg’s stellar junior career, which included title successes in F3, GP2 and A1GP, suggested that he was destined for the very top. Does he have any regrets about choices he made along the way?

“I think I’ve said it before, the benefit of hindsight is a beautiful thing,” he says. “Of course, I would have done a few things differently. But no point on dwelling on the past. Learn from it, try to correct it in the future, and do the right thing.

“What I said earlier about this time away, when you reflect on things, when you see things from a different angle, there are certainly some things that I will change how I will do them in the future. But there are very personal things that I don’t want to go into detail.

“And frankly, there were a few missed opportunities to set the highlights that were necessary to do the final step to a top team, that’s a fact. But I guess Haas want me for a reason – and they believe I’ve still got it and that I’m quality material.”

What can Hulkenberg produce on his F1 return?

Photo by: Haas F1 Team