Nico Hulkenberg termed 'a cheap substitute' by a German fan as Mick Schumacher's Haas reunion sought by former Michael Schumacher adversary

Michael Schumacher's former rival Heinz-Harald Frentzen feels for Mick Schumacher, claiming German interest in the sport has declined since Nico Hulkenberg replaced the 24-year-old at the end of 2022. Mick was sacked from Haas after failing to perform at the expected level.

Mick, son of legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher, was unable to match Kevin Magnussen's pace in equal machinery and was prone to crashing, giving Guenther Steiner and Co. a hard time over the course of the season.

As a result, Hulkenberg was asked to step in for the American team, bringing his vast experience back to the sport. The butterfly effect of this decision was that German interest in the sport has reduced dramatically.

Frentzen's problem with Mick Schumacher's sacking lies not with his performance compared to Nico Hulkenberg, but in that the 35-year-old does not do enough for Germany's name in the sport.

German racer Sophia Floersch recently shared an article about the current lack of her country's interest in F1. While Frentzen supported Floersch's claim, a fan went a step ahead and wrote:

“I think Mick has been extremely good for popularity. A lot of people watched because of Mick. For me, Hulk is a ‘cheap substitute’ for the German fans. As a stopgap, because they didn’t want to scare away the German fan scene after the departure of [Vettel] and [Schumacher]."

Nico Hulkenberg on Max Verstappen's record against teammates

Nico Hulkenberg recently claimed that driving alongside Max Verstappen is the ultimate test for any driver, given the Dutchman's record against teammates. Verstappen has been beaten by a teammate only twice so far, in 2016 and 2017.

And both times have been to Daniel Ricciardo, who finished ahead of Verstappen partly due to the now-two-time world champion's inexperience. Since then, Verstappen has been able to successfully destroy all of his teammates, including Sergio Perez in 2023.

Hulkenberg told AD about the challenge of going up against Verstappen:

"How I see Max? As an absolute killer. He's just so unbelievably good. So much natural talent, but he's also a really nice and charming human being. A no-nonsense guy. He just tells you how it is, is honest with you And I can appreciate that."

"There have been some talks with Helmut, but I never had the idea that it really got serious. That would have been nice, with such a top team. And not, because being a teammate of Max, hey... That really is the ultimate challenge for drivers. Probably the most difficult seat on the grid," he added.

As it stands, Nico Hulkenberg is faring better for Haas than Kevin Magnussen, potentially securing his seat for 2024.