Hulkenberg will get the chance to test this year’s car at the Pirelli test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, with reserve driver and rookie Pietro Fittipaldi driving the team’s other machine. Hulkenberg’s name first surfaced as a potential candidate for Haas in September, with Antonio Giovinazzi – Ferrari’s engine partner’s favorite choice – his main rival for the position. Team boss Gunther Steiner always insisted Ferrari could only advise the drivers and an FP1 accident in Austin ended any long-term hope Giovinazzi might have had. The decision to replace Schumacher with Hulkenberg reflects a marked change in strategy by the team, which ran two rookies in 2021 and will now start next season with two drivers who have more than 320 grand prix starts between them. Steiner made it clear that Hulkenberg’s experience was key to getting the nod to return to F1 full-time after three years out. “Of course I am very happy to welcome Nico Hulkenberg back to a full-time racing role in F1,” said Steiner. “The experience and knowledge base that Nico brings to the team is clear – with almost 200 career F1 starts – and a reputation as a great qualifier and consistent, reliable racer. “These are attributes, which when you combine them with the experience of Kevin Magnussen, give us a very reliable and experienced line-up of drivers that we believe will help propel the team up the grid. “That is obviously the aim and that was the ambition that drove Nico to return to F1 – he shares our vision and can be a key player along with the rest of the team in building on the foundations we have laid this year with our return to the battle of the points”. Nico Hulkenberg, Aston Martin Photo: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images Hulkenberg said: “I feel like I’ve never really left Formula 1. I’m excited to get the chance to do what I love most again and I want to thank Gene Haas and Gunther Steiner for their trust. “We have work ahead of us to be able to compete with all the other teams in midfield and I’m looking forward to being part of that battle again.” Hulkenberg has an excellent junior CV, having led Germany to the A1 GP title in 2006-7 before winning the European F3 championship in 2008 and the GP2 crown in back-to-back years. He made his F1 debut with Williams in 2010, taking pole at Interlagos, before being dropped to make way for the well-sponsored Pastor Maldonado in 2011. So he spent that season as a Force India reserve before racing for the team Silverstone in 2012. After a single year with Sauber in 2013 he returned to the Force India camp in 2014-16 and also found time to win the Le Mans 24 Hours with Porsche in 2015. He then enjoyed three years with Renault from 2017, finishing a career-high seventh in the standings in 2018, but lost his place to Esteban Ocon at the end of 2019 and has not raced full-time since, instead taking up a reserve role with Racing Point and Aston Martin. Hulkenberg appeared as a stand-in driver at Racing Point three times in 2020. He failed to start in the British GP and then qualified a surprise third in the 70th anniversary race the following weekend. He scored consistent points with seventh in the race, which he followed up with eighth at the Nurburgring. In October 2021 he had an IndyCar test with the Arrow McLaren SP, but made it clear that he had no interest in racing in the series. This year he was once again called up as a reserve driver by Aston Martin, starting at the first two races of the year in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia when Sebastian Vettel was ruled out due to COVID-19. Read also:
