F1 News: Haas boss Guenther Steiner hopes Nico Hulkenberg can "carry" the team in 2023
Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has explained why the decision was taken to sign Nico Hulkenberg for 2023 and what the American squad's expectations are for the 35-year-old.
Nico Hulkenberg has strung together a sequence of impressive campaigns throughout his F1 career, including solid seasons for Force India (2014-16) and Renault (2017-19).
A series of substitute appearances for Racing Point and Aston Martin served as a reminder of his calibre as a driver, no doubt contributing to Haas eventually signing him for 2023.
There are some questions surrounding how deeply Hulkenberg's three-year spell outside of a full-time Formula 1 seat will impact his level of performance this year.
Haas will be hoping that Hulkenberg's work in the simulator for Aston Martin (in addition to his participation at the end-of-year Abu Dhabi test) can help re-integrate the German driver into his role.
Speaking after Hulkenberg was announced to Haas's 2023 lineup, Guenther Steiner explained why the decision was taken:
"We are the youngest team, and [in] the last two years, we lost a little bit of our momentum when the pandemic came, and so on.
"So it's a question of how we bring the team back where we want it - like in 2018 and maybe even in 2019, which was better than the last two years.
"You know, Mick [Schumacher] did a good job, but we needed to carry him, and we need someone to carry us a little bit.
"We waited a long time because it wasn't clear, the decision. The market went our way - nobody really picked [Hulkenberg] up - so we waited a little bit longer than you do normally.
"But I think this is the best we can do for the team to move up again where we want to be."
After barely clinging on to 8th place in the standings, Haas will be working to take a step forward with next year's VF-23 machine.
A lack of infrastructure and financial resources has limited the team's progress in previous years, with the lack of upgrades throughout the 2022 season serving as a recent example.
It is true that Haas has often been competitive in the midfield (2016-19, 2022) despite these limitations.
With that said, the American outfit will hope that its recent sponsorship deals can provide the financial ammunition to further establish itself in Formula 1 and provide some much-needed stability.