The American F1 team “Haas” officially announced today that it has signed a contract with Nico Hilkenberg, who will therefore start from next season Mick Schumacher place.
The son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, Mick began his F1 career last year and spent both seasons with Haas. He has only managed to score points twice this season when he finished eighth in Great Britain and sixth in Austria.
Since Schumacher is currently out of contract, the athlete will most likely not have the opportunity to compete next year. It has already been reported that he could become a test driver for a team leader and at the same time work towards returning to the championship for the 2024 season.
Due to several incidents, Schumacher was publicly criticized by Haas team manager Gunther Steiner. It has long been known that Schumacher is unlikely to keep his job. Ferrari’s Antonio Giovinazzi has also been mentioned as a possible replacement for him, although the 35-year-old Hilkenberg is always highlighted in the media as the main contender.
In his F1 career so far, Hilkenberg has participated in more than 180 stages, representing teams such as ‘Williams’, ‘Force India’, ‘Sauber’ and ‘Renault’. He completed the last season in 2019, but has completed individual stages since then. This year, the German replaced Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin team in the first two races. Although Hilkenberg has regularly been able to fight for points, he is yet to reach the podium.
Hilkenberg will have the opportunity to test this year’s Haas race car at next Tuesday’s Pirelli test at the Abu Dhabi circuit.
Nico is looking forward to returning to F1 full-time, having joined #HaasF1 for the 2023 season! pic.twitter.com/6ZZtHiF1Wc
— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) November 17, 2022
