“He convinced us that he can still do this” – Gunther Steiner talks about the concerns over signing Nico Hulkenberg for Haas’s 2023 drive
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Gunther Steiner talked about the concerns of choosing Nico Hulkenberg for 2023
The Haas Formula 1 team has announced Nico Hulkenberg as its replacement for ousted Mick Schumacher for 2023. The decisions raised a few eyebrows in the paddock as team principal Gunther Steiner picked a driver who had not raced full-time in the sport since 2019, with the 35-year-old’s age also not reflecting the best for the German.
Recently Gunther went on F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast and spoke in depth about the deliberation regarding the American’s team decision of signing Hulkenberg. When asked about the concern regarding the German’s lack of racing in the past three years, Gunther agreed and said, “It will take him some time and that was our biggest concern when we looked at it.” The Italian then made the case for the 35-year-old, mentioning Nico’s running for Aston Martin this year, the 57-year-old stated, “He drove 2 races this year, he drove a Pirelli test… We cannot find the definite answer if we don’t try… and that is one of the risks.”
Steiner then made a reference to Fernando Alonso’s return to Formula 1 and the Spaniard’s passion for the race in the sport, the 57-year-old talked about the conversation with Hulkenberg over the German’s actual eagerness in coming back. Gunther said on the podcast, “We sat down with him just to see if he can see ‘I want to do this because if you want to do this and Fernando is a big example… he’s still one of the best” The Haas team boss then went on to praise Alonso’s performances.
While discussing the German’s desire of coming back to the sport, Gunther mentioned how the team was convinced by the 35-year-old and even spoke about seeing the fire inside Hulkenberg to race in F1. Steiner stated, “we convinced ourselves or he convinces us that he can still do it… I see that fire he was pretty intense about coming back.” The 57-year-old is optimistic about Nico’s chances next year and hopes for the German to have a successful run, he said, “I think he really wants to do this and I hope it will happen.”
Gunther Steiner has his take on Daniel Ricciardo’s disinterest in driving for Haas
The Haas team boss was asked about considering Daniel Ricciardo for the seat, for which the Italian mentioned having a WhatsApp conversation with Daniel, before the announcement of the Aussie’s exit from McLaren but Ricciardo failed to get back to Steiner regarding the seat, Gunther stated, “I texted with him I didn’t even speak with him before it all went down at McLaren because we all could feel that something’s wrong here.”
The 57-year-old respected Ricciardo’s decision of wanting to focus on what the Aussie aspires to do, “I think he decided because we had that WhatsApp conversation but he never got back I respect what he’s doing that I want to do what I want to do,” he said. Steiner then emphasized, “You cannot beg a guy to come and drive for you” and mentioned how if the driver and the team do not have a mutual interest, then it simply won’t work. Steiner however respected Danny Ric’s decision of taking time out of the sport and agreed over the Aussie being a talented driver
Gunther Steiner looks forward to the upcoming F1 season, with a new driver pairing and a long-term plan for the team to rebuild itself and work on the strengths of this year. The Haas team surprised everyone with Kevin Magnussen’s maiden pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix. But the American team could only manage P8 in the constructor’s standings with 37 points. For next season, we hope Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen provide the team with much-needed positive results and fight regularly in the midfield.
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