Battle for the last Formula 1 cockpit: does Hulkenberg destroy all Schumacher hopes with this sentence?
Created: 11/02/2022, 10:15 am
By: Marius Epp
Ironically, Nico Hülkenberg is Mick Schumacher's biggest competitor for the Formula 1 cockpit at Haas.
The Emmericher is surprisingly confident.
Mexico City - Schumacher, Hulkenberg - or a completely different one?
Formula 1 racing team Haas does not let their cards be looked at even two races before the end of the season.
It is still not clear who will get the second cockpit next to Kevin Magnussen.
For Mick Schumacher, the prospects are getting worse and worse.
The assumption that Haas decided against Schumacher a long time ago seems more and more realistic.
In the background there are talks with Nico Hülkenberg, which the 35-year-old confirmed again himself. "The talks are still going on and I'm relatively optimistic," he told the Austrian broadcaster ServusTV.
Hülkenberg "optimistic": Schumacher's hopes of staying in Formula 1 are smaller
This quite remarkable optimism does not bode well for Schumacher.
If the Schumi offspring were the dream driver for his bosses Gene Haas and Günther Steiner, the matter would have been settled long ago.
There is much to suggest that a decision will be made this week.
Mick Schumacher and Nico Hülkenberg duel for the Haas cockpit.
© Gerardo Vieyrax/PanoramaC/Imago
According to information from
Motorsport-Total
, the team plans to present its pilot for 2023 this week.
Team boss Steiner set himself a deadline until the last race in Abu Dhabi.
The one who brings the money usually has the longest leverage - and that is the American and team owner Gene Haas.
Tensions between Schumacher management and Haas have recently been reported in the motorsport scene.
Formula 1: Hülkenberg could inherit Schumacher - fight for the last cockpit
So it's quite possible that the dice will fall on Hulkenberg in the end.
The Emmericher would have deserved it, whose temporary trips “out of the cold pants” (quote Hülkenberg) have brought him a lot of recognition in the last two years.
However, it is not entirely clear which long-term strategy Haas will then pursue.
Two years ago, Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher were still fully committed to youngsters.
Hülkenberg is 35 years old and probably has little upward potential.
Schumacher, on the other hand, did, the form curve showed upwards as the season progressed.
In the second half of the season he was mostly better than Magnussen.
The fight for the last available Formula 1 cockpit is entering its final phase.
Williams appears to have settled on Logan Sargeant.
For Schumacher, Haas is the last chance to stay in the premier class.
(epp)