"It feels like we have done very little racing" - Nico Hulkenberg gives his take on the stop-start nature of the 2023 F1 calendar

Haas F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg has pointed out that the 2023 F1 season has had a very stop-start nature caused by the long breaks in the calendar.

Heading into the 2023 season, the sport promoted it as the longest F1 season with 24 races. But the cancellation of the Chinese GP and the Emilia Romagna GP for different reasons resulted in a lot of breaks in the month of April and May.

Speaking to RacingNews365, Nico Hulkenberg said:

"I think that this year in general, the season has been very start-stop. We had Melbourne and then there was this big break in April because we lost Shanghai, and now we've recently lost Imola. It feels like we have done very little racing.

"We've had one Sprint format and that was in Baku. That was after three or four weeks of break, so that felt a little extreme, to do it in a place like Baku with having [that] break. Because, as a driver, you start the season, you try to get into a rhythm, build momentum, and then to come to Baku, it was difficult, challenging. That was the first ever Sprint race I did."

Nico Hulkenberg lauded by Haas team boss

Haas F1 boss Guenther Steiner has, meanwhile, praised Nico Hulkenberg for his instant impact within the team so early in his return to the sport. The German driver signed with the team ahead of this season. However, he has outperformed expectations and gained six points as of now, two more than teammate Kevin Magnussen.

While appearing on the F1 Nation podcast, Steiner said on Nico Hulkenberg:

"For Nico, coming back after three years as a part-time driver, he came back really strong. I expected him to be strong, but I expected that form to come a little bit later, so I was quite surprised. In the beginning, he was just strong. I don't know if we've reached the peak, or is there more coming?

"I will be happy if there is more coming, obviously. But I think he's doing a good job. He's bringing a good vibe to the team at the moment. Everybody likes to work with him.

"He's demanding, but always in a good way. [He] never demands something just for the sake of [it]. He always can explain why he wants something."

It will be fascinating to see if the German driver, with his experience, can take the Haas F1 team forward and fight in the midfield more regularly this season.