Nico Hulkenberg has driven for several teams in his 11 seasons in F1. Among all the sides he has competed for, he regards his two past years at Haas as perhaps “the most enjoyable time” of his career.
“I’ve really enjoyed myself these past two years and I’m leaving happy and with a smile,” the German driver said as quoted by Haas’ Instagram handle. “A big thank you to this team. It’s been probably the most enjoyable time in my Formula 1 career“.
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Despite having a pleasurable time at the American outfit, Hulkenberg interestingly decided to leave them and sign for Sauber. In these past two years with Haas, Hulkenberg showed his prowess on the wheel, even though Haas had its own limitations.
Haas finished last in the Constructors’ Championship last season, Yet Hulkenberg managed to impress by scoring nine of the 12 points for the team, with his personal best being P7 in Australia. He carried on from where he left off last year and finished 11th in the championship this season, which isn’t bad for Haas.
The 37-year-old’s best finish this season was sixth, which he achieved twice — in Austria and Great Britain. However, all that will now come to an end as Hulkenberg leaves Haas, the team that gave him a second chance in F1 after he spent three years on the sidelines, the kind of timeline that would be incredibly hard for any driver to make a return from.
When Haas decided to sign Hulkenberg, they had two key issues to address. The first one was to reduce the damage bill for the American outfit, an issue that former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner highlighted on multiple instances.
And the second was to score points, which Hulkenberg did brilliantly. Now, Hulkenberg will hope to carry a similar level of form to Sauber, which could very well be his last team in F1, assuming he is in the twilight of his career.
