Nico Hulkenberg is set to secure a contract extension with Haas Formula 1 Team, according to Team Principal Guenther Steiner.
The 2023 F1 season marks Hulkenberg’s first full-time drive since 2019. Despite his time on the sidelines, the German quickly impressed at Haas, most notably with his ability to extract one lap pace from the V-F23.
Hulkenberg has made five Q3 appearances so far this season, compared to just one for team-mate Kevin Magnussen.
While the Haas has struggled with tyre management throughout this year, Hulkenberg has managed to score nine points to date whereas Magnussen has only been able to collect two.
Upon his full-time return to F1, the 35-year-old signed a one-year deal with the team but his performances have already convinced Guenther Steiner to extend the current agreement, according to reports in the German media.
“[The new contract] will be worked on soon. Gene Haas is coming to the races in Belgium and Hungary,” Steiner told Sport.de.
“We’ve already talked about the contract, but it’s better to do it in person than by phone or video. The new contract won’t be long in coming.
“It’s coming and we hope to get it done as soon as possible to be able to announce a new deal, because we are very happy with Nico.”
While without a full-time race seat for three seasons, Hulkenberg was never fully absent from the sport. He started four Grands Prix for Aston Martin/Racing Point while serving as a reserve driver for the team.
Steiner still added that he was surprised by how quickly his driver had returned to form after his time away from the sport.
“I didn’t expect him to be in such good shape right away,” he said.
“He hadn’t been a full-time driver for three years, but he came in here and it clicked right away. We knew he was good, but we didn’t see that he would be in such good shape immediately.”
“Within the team he has a good relationship with everyone. As a driver, he is good at explaining what he wants. It is nice to see how he performs and how he competes.”
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