F1 News: Schumacher vs Hulkenberg - Haas driver announcement expected this week
Haas F1 Team is expected to announce their driver lineup for next year ahead of this weekend's Brazilian GP.
The American squad is the last outfit without a confirmed driver lineup for 2023, having kick-started this year's unforgettable silly season in pre-season by replacing Nikita Mazepin with Kevin Magnussen.
Guenther Steiner has maintained throughout the year that Mick Schumacher has a 50/50 chance of continuing with the team as Haas continues to evaluate his performance.
Speaking to RTL, the Haas team principal suggested a decision could be announced before the Brazilian GP.
Schumacher started the year in poor form, committing a series of mistakes and lacking the pace to match the performances of teammate Kevin Magnussen.
The same cannot be said in the second half of the season, with Schumacher now significantly closer in both race and qualifying trim to his Danish teammate.
However, ahead of the American GP, Haas set a minimum target of points for Schumacher to earn a contract extension with the team.
Although Guenther Steiner has now retracted that expectation, there is a consensus that Hulkenberg is perfectly positioned to replace the 23-year-old in the team.
Hulkenberg's career in the midfield consists of many impressive campaigns, bringing home several important points for the likes of Force India (2014-16) and Renault (2017-19).
Hulkenberg can be criticised for not achieving a podium, but this is quite an irrelevant statistic, given that he would be lucky to find himself fighting for a top-three position more than once a year.
Whilst the German driver would have preferred more highlights and silverware, all the teams he competed for were pleased with his performances.
Haas needs points, not one-off podiums, and in this area, Hulkenberg could undoubtedly be of service to the American team.
There is certainly an argument that Haas's criterion for Schumacher has been unfair, especially given that the VF-22 has become increasingly uncompetitive this year.
With Haas only securing two points in the second half of the season, it seems unreasonable to use points as the metric to decide Schumacher's future.
However, this criticism does not negate the value Hulkenberg can add if the team eventually acquires his services for 2023.