Haas shares a special relationship with Ferrari, in that they get many parts for their cars manufactured in Maranello. Therefore, Ferrari holds an influence on the American team’s decisions. However, when it came to choosing Mick Schumacher’s replacement, Guenther Steiner went against Mattia Binotto. Moreover, the man who helped them zero in on Nico Hulkenberg is none other than the man rumored to replace Binotto at Ferrari, Frederic Vasseur.

Mick Schumacher’s two-year stint at Haas was underwhelming, to say the least. While the lack of points-scoring ability was disappointing, it was his habit of crashing the car beyond recognition too often that was the biggest matter of concern. Therefore, the rumors about the team looking to replace him did not come as a surprise.

How Frederic Vasseur and Guenther Steiner went against Mattia Binotto

It did not come as a surprise when Mick Schumacher joined Haas in 2021. That was because Schumacher was a part of Ferrari’s driver academy. However, when Guenther Steiner wanted to replace Mick with Nico Hulkenberg, he fought off the pressure from Mattia Binotto. Binotto wanted to push for Antonio Giovinazzi and Robert Schwartzman, both drivers associated with Ferrari, to take the seat.

According to F1 Maximaal, “Steiner dared to go against Binotto’s wishes, because the former already took Vasseur’s appointment at the Scuderia into account.” [Translated using Google]

And now that Vasseur has made his intentions clear about continuing the relationship with Haas, it is believed he had a role to play in Hulkenberg’s move.

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Being arguably a cash-strapped team, Haas could not afford Mick constantly wrecking the car. To avoid that from further happening, they needed to replace him with an experienced driver. Therefore, bringing someone like Giovinazzi or Schwartzman might not have helped the case.

Guenther Steiner explains the reason behind choosing Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg has spent his entire career in midfield teams. He knows what it is like to develop with a team on a limited budget. Moreover, he has time and again proven his worth with these teams.

Speaking on BBC’s podcast F1: Chequered Flag, Steiner said, “He [Nico Hulkenberg] has driven for a lot of teams. That is one of the main reasons. You know he’s been with a lot of teams in the midfield. He knows how a midfield team operates, how to get the best out of it because we looked at it and all the teams he were at, they got up at top when he was there. So, we hope to use his experience to bring the team up.”

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While Nico’s experience is invaluable, it is also a fact that he hasn’t raced full time in the last 3 years. Do you think the German can shake off the rust and perform at the top of his abilities next season?