Nico Hulkenberg’s stint in Haas has been a series of ups and downs, but this year shows major progress in his position in the Championship standings.
The full-time Formula One return of Nico Hulkenberg in 2023 turned out to be one of the best driver decisions for Haas. Since the introduction of the 2021 technical regulations, Haas has faced difficulties adjusting to it. As a result, the American team has been remaining at the bottom of the standings. Many believed that there was little to no hope for the team to rise once more. However, as this season goes by, Haas has delivered surprises for the fans.
Return of The Hulk
Replacing fellow German Mick Schumacher, Nico Hulkenberg was signed into a full-time role for the 2023 season. During the previous three years without a seat, he carried out the duties of a reserve driver for Aston Martin and a temporary sub for Racing Point.
Hoping to enter the midfield battle, Hulkenberg came with the expectation of settling things down with the struggling team.
It was a lacklustre start of the season for the German as he finished in 15th, behind his teammate Kevin Magnussen in Bahrain.
Things eventually did turn out for the better for Hulkenberg as the season went by. Australia saw the German driver take up six points in a race that had three red flags. It was a well-driven race by the German, a true testament to his skill behind the wheel.
The Austrian round was the peak of Hulkenberg’s 2023 season. In Red Bull Ring, he qualified fourth and went on to finish sixth in the Sprint. It was impressive considering the fact that besides delivering three valuable points for the team, he also completed both sessions under wet conditions.
Haas went on to climb up to seventh in the Constructors’ standings, a major feat for them at that time.
Haas also introduced its biggest in-season upgrade in 2023, which featured a Red Bull-style design concept. However, it failed to meet the expectations of even the drivers. This was further marred by worsening race pace and continuing tyre degradation issues.
This led them to slip into last place in the Constructors standings with 12 points, nine of them provided by Hulkenberg. His contribution makes up around 75% of the total points scored by the team.
Regardless of the downward trajectory of Haas’s overall performance, Nico Hulkenberg’s performances still showed a lot of potential. Throughout the season, Hulkenberg also possessed a strong qualifying pace. He managed to qualify in the top ten on 11 occasions. However, it was rather challenging for him to convert most of them into a points-finish result.
His nine points allowed him to finish in P16 in the drivers’ standings. He was finally able to end a dreadful season, his first since returning to F1.
A reversal of fortune
2024 has arrived under the new leadership of Ayao Komatsu for Haas. As the focus was on their continuous car development, they believed that they were expected to remain at the back of the field.
However, when Nico Hulkenberg scored the final point of the race in the second round, it opened up a door of promises. For the time since 2018, Haas has the potential to fight once again.
Despite finishing outside of the top ten for the normal race in Miami, Hulkenberg still managed to secure a satisfying two points due to the Sprint session.
The German was able to shine in Austria once again, where he stunningly finished sixth this time. He went on to repeat the result in the following round in Silverstone.
Undoubtedly, he has faced several near-miss occasions that hindered him from taking the points. In the Canadian Grand Prix, Hulkenberg managed to avoid the spun RB car of Yuki Tsunoda in Turn 9. The distance between the two cars was just a mere millimetres away. It led to a missed opportunity for Hulkenberg to score.
It was overall a fresh turnaround for the German, seeing a major change in the points tally within a year. Across the previous season’s campaign, he unfortunately only scored once without taking the Sprint into account. A six-point finish in Australia appears to be a massive difference compared to now, having secured 29 points from eight rounds thus far.
As a result, Hulkenberg has finally placed his name in the top ten in the Drivers’ standings as of Singapore.
Reaching this important milestone has not been easy, however, as the midfield battle has grown tighter. William’s Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon brought home a few points to add to the British outfit’s points tally. RB is right behind the American team as drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson contributed several points as well.
Although, Hulkenberg enjoyed a splendid weekend in his team’s home race. He and Magnussen successfully took up a double-point result in the United States Grand Prix. Gathering their points from both Sprint and normal races, Haas finally took over sixth place in the constructors. This leaves a gap between the team and RB by two points.
His future in Sauber/Audi
Hulkenberg will once again appear in the driver line-up in the 2025 season. But this time, he is set to don in green as he joins Sauber. Approaching the finale with plenty of points under the belt has raised his confidence to finish his time with the American outfit on a high.
With plenty of rookies in the line eager to realize their lifelong dream of obtaining a seat in Formula One, Hulkenberg continues his hunt for more points to lengthen his stay here.
