F1 reserve drives show Hulkenberg, according to Steiner, 'I'll get right on it'

After leaving Renault at the end of the 2019 season to replace Mick Schumacher at the American team, Hulkenberg will return to F1 after three seasons away. While the 35-year-old German insisted he was not keen to return, he kept his foot in the door and deputised on five occasions for drivers affected by COVID-19 over the last three seasons. Hulkenberg appeared three times for Racing Point in 2020, replacing Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez.

Not be Rusty

Despite failing to qualify for the British Grand Prix, he impressed by finishing in the top eight in both the Silverstone 70th Anniversary Grand Prix and the Nurburgring’s Eifel Grand Prix. This year, instead of Sebastian Vettel, he competed in the first two rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia for the same team, now racing as Aston Martin. Haas team principal Steiner believes Hulkenberg’s cameos helped convince him that he won’t be too rusty when he joins the squad. “We looked at that one as well, but when he came in, when he replaced drivers in the last years, he was pretty on the ball straight away,” Steiner said when asked if he is concerned about a lack of race sharpness.

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Demanding ?

Hulkenberg took part in Haas’ post-season test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, which helped him get up to speed with the team and the physical demands of racing in F1. “We’ll also be doing preseason testing in Bahrain.” “I think he’ll be honest about it,” Steiner remarked. “Physically, these F1 cars are pretty demanding, and it will take him some time to get used to it because driving the cars is the only way to strengthen your muscles.”

“We’ll cross that bridge next year, but he’s in good shape. “‘Is he straight on the ball when he comes back after being out?’ I believe we both had that question. “But when you look at his results when he jumped in at the final minute, he was fairly good.”