“It was the right call”: Nico Hulkenberg reviews Haas’ decision to start the US F1 GP from the pit lane

Nico Hulkenberg believes that his race performance at the 2023 US GP in Austin was better than the sprint race. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda, the German felt he performed well on Haas’ home ground.

Finishing 11th in the race, Nico Hulkenberg had a satisfactory outing compared to Qatar, Japan, or Singapore. The Emmerich-born driver has had a mixed run in his first season upon return since 2019. Hailed a ‘super sub’ through the pandemic, his performances won him praise as he substituted for drivers affected by the novel virus. At Haas’ home race, the German was disappointed with his performance in the sprint. Changing the setup of the cars, both Haas drivers started their race from the pitlane.

Asked by Sportskeeda to summarise his race in Austin, Nico Hulkenberg said:

“I think it definitely felt better than yesterday. I think it was the right call to start form the pit lane today and change the setup because it turned out to be much better today. I think we were much more competitive. But obviously yeah paying the price for starting all the way from the back. But (it) wasn’t easy, felt tricky, a lot of management going on. But compared to others I think the pace was ok, from what I could see and judge. So some positive signs.”

Asked if the hard tire worked for him around the bumpy Texan race circuit, he said:

“Yeah I started on the hard and it wasn’t too bad for me to be honest. Quite happy on it but we also did two mediums afterwards. But yeah looked good for me.”

Suggesting the pitlane starts had a few drawbacks, Nico Hulkenberg managed to fight his way up the grid to finish just outside the points places. Although he crossed the finish line in 13th place, the Haas driver was promoted to 11th after the disqualification of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. He believes that his main race was much better than the sprint due to the changed setup. Claiming it wasn’t an easy race due to the tire management involved, he was not too disappointed with the hard tire and reckoned it worked well for him.

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Nico Hulkenberg hails his 2023 US Grand Prix performance

Nico Hulkenberg felt the US GP was one of his better performances post-summer break. The Haas driver felt that he was able to overtake more as opposed to getting overtaken. He believes they still have to analyse some of his performances but it was probably one of his better performances this season.

Asked if it was his best performance post-summer break, Nico Hulkenberg said:

“I think I would say so, yes. I need to go and see more data and understand it a bit better. But it was a long time that I’ve actually overtaken people and not got overtaken. So that felt nice and it was good.”

Having scored nine points in total this season, Nico Hulkenberg is 15th in the driver’s championship. He is six points ahead of his teammate Kevin Magnussen and has contributed to the majority of Haas’ points. While the championship for Haas revolves around beating AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo, the battle is expected to go down to the wire with four rounds left in the calendar.