Nico Hulkenberg opens up on when he 'wasn't that happy mentally' at previous F1 team

Nico Hulkenberg has said that his time away from the sport was almost intentional on his part when he left in 2019, as he wasn't too happy with the team at the time.

The German was part of Renault, whom he had led to finish P4 in the championship in 2018. In 2019, with Daniel Ricciardo joining the team, Hulkenberg started getting sidelined, and by the end of the season, Renault had Esteban Ocon as a replacement ready.

For the 2020 season as well, Hulkenberg had a discussion with Haas, but it did not materialise into anything. The German then took a step back from the sport, as the options for him dried up.

Talking to the AMuS about his decision to take a step back, Hulkenberg said:

"It was intended to a certain extent. The head was empty, the mood in the team was quite negative from mid-2019. I wasn't that happy mentally. I knew I needed a little distance. The normal winter break of two or three months sounds like a lot, but it's not. This gave me the opportunity to step away completely. That gave me time to reflect and digest some things. The perspective changes, and that has done me a lot of good."

When the German was signed by Haas, Guenther Steiner was especially pleased with the signing, with the team principal saying:

“I’m naturally very pleased to be welcoming Nico Hülkenberg back to a full-time racing role in Formula 1. The experience and knowledge base Nico brings to the team is clear to see – with nearly 200 career starts in Formula 1 – and a reputation as being a great qualifier and a solid, reliable racer."

He continued:

"These are attributes, which when you pair them together with Kevin Magnussen’s experience, gives us a very credible and well-seasoned driver line-up which we believe will help push the team onwards up the grid."

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Nico Hulkenberg happy to move into full-time race seat

Nico Hulkenberg has been a part of the sport as a reserve driver for Aston Martin in the last few seasons. He also participated in the first two races this season as a substitute for Sebastian Vettel and said that he's happy to move into a full-time role in the sport. He said:

“I’m very happy to move into a full-time race seat with Haas F1 team in 2023. I feel like I never really left Formula 1. I’m excited to have the opportunity to do what I love the most again and want to thank Gene Haas and Gunther Steiner for their trust. We have work ahead of us to be able to compete with all the other teams in the midfield, and I cannot wait to join that battle again.”

It will be interesting to see if the German can continue to perform in the same way he did before he took time off the sport.