F1 News: Haas Chief Showers Driver With Praise As Contract Expiry Is On The Horizon

Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg had been given a chance to prove himself at the American team this year and he hasn't disappointed team principal Guenther Steiner one bit. The German racer had been missing in action from full-time Formula One racing since 2019 after racing for Renault back then.

In 2020, he raced as a reserve driver for Racing Point (now Aston Martin) and sported impressive performance in two races. In 2022, Hulkenberg saw a repeat in two races that offered enough reasons for Steiner to hire him for 2023.

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Steiner feels it was worth hiring Hulkenberg who has outperformed his teammate Kevin Magnussen by quite a margin. In qualifying, Hulkenberg is 9-2 ahead of Magnussen and has scored more points than him. Steiner reveals how impressed he is with the 35-year-old racer who took no time to get along with him and the team. He revealed to the media:

"Pretty impressed, you know. I mean, obviously, we took him for one reason because we know he can drive a race car. After three years as not a full-time driver, how long does it take him to catch up?

"It didn't take him any time because he was there from day one, you know, which is very good. It's actually very impressive. As a human being, he tries to help the team and that's what we wanted with the experience, what I always said, you know. Obviously, I think he was six or seven times in Q3 out of 11 races. That isn't too shabby, you know."

Continuing his praise, Steiner compliments Hulknberg's long-term experience in F1 and how that has contributed to his success. Explaining how he not only understands his boss well but also how he goes about racing in the right way without overdoing anything, Steiner said:

"First of all, he surprised me how quick he was on the ball, you know, how quick he was integrated in the team. It was quite amazing how immediately he understood me.

"But again, we are talking, yes, experience. He was doing this a long time, you know. But also how he goes about racing, you know. He goes about it the right way. I mean, he puts the right effort in, not trying to overdo it, you know. But he knows exactly what he needs to do."

It looks like Hulkenberg is all set for a contract extension with Haas. But, you can only say after the papers have been signed.

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