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Nico Hulkenberg is set for a contract extension with Haas after giving the team the much-required start they waited for many seasons in the past. The German driver has managed to outperform his teammate, Kevin Magnussen, by large margins.
Team Principal Guenther Steiner lauded Nico Hulkenberg's performance and said he clearly deserves a contract extension given his current form.
In an interview with the media, Steiner said:
“Nico clearly deserves to stay if he continues like this. It’s like he never left F1."
Director of Engineering at Haas, Ayao Komatsu, gave his perspective on Nico's performance so far and said:
“Nico has brought exactly what we were looking for. From Abu Dhabi testing, it was really clear that he can feel the car really well, so his feedback is very accurate."
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Describing his demeanor during races, Komatsu said:
“He’s very calm and he rarely makes mistakes. Even when things are less than ideal, he just stays calm in the car and gives you the feedback in real-time which doesn’t put engineers on edge, it means they can just focus
Haas's story with multiple drivers until Nico Hulkenberg came in
Haas' driver roster has experienced a number of quick and significant adjustments in recent years. This all began when it was decided to substitute Kevin Magnussen for Nikita Mazepin during the 2022 preseason tests, throwing a wrench in the works just before Bahrain.
Additionally, Mick Schumacher was fired from Haas after the American team decided to hire Nico Hulkenberg, a move that already appears to be paying off. Nico's return to Haas had received a mixed bag of reactions, as he is one of the oldest drivers in the paddock to not have secured a podium, despite showing immense potential to do so.
Nico Hulkenberg is known for his win during the 24-hour Le Mans in 2015 and his strong midfield performances since his time driving for Renault. However, the narrative surrounding his failure to secure a podium overshadows his positives.
Nevertheless, Haas' team duo also proved to be a successful and stable one given that K-Mag and Nico were sensibly managed with strategies where the Haas drivers were separated by a margin throughout the race and swapped positions in the course of the race.
Magnussen and Hulkenberg proved they can "be nice to each other" on the track even when racing at similar speeds, passing the first test of their new partnership with flying colors. This is in contrast to Grosjean and Magnussen, who occasionally struggled to do so, much to Haas's chagrin.
