Bad news for Schumacher: Haas is in talks with Hülkenberg

Guenther Steiner has officially confirmed that talks are underway with Nico Hülkenberg. The Haas team boss told German RTL that he is in talks with Aston Martin's current test driver.

The race for seats in Formula 1 's 'silly season' is now pretty much over. Only Williams and Haas still have vacant seats. The Haas seat in particular has been the subject of much debate recently. Mick Schumacher currently occupies that spot, but Haas seems reluctant to extend his contract. And while Schumacher is getting a lot of support, it is still hard to deny that the German has almost half as many points as his teammate Kevin Magnussen.

Earlier this week, Steiner indicated that Daniel Ricciardo is more than welcome to give him a call if he wants to join the team. But the Australian seems to have no desire to do so: despite the free seat at Haas, Ricciardo had already announced he would not return to the sport next year so he can focus on 2024.

Hülkenberg seems a logical option

So if Haas does indeed not want to continue with Schumacher, and does not want a new rookie driver as Steiner previously indicated, then the options are limited. Nico Hülkenberg's name is often mentioned as a possible replacement. Hülkenberg drove as a regular driver in Formula 1 until 2019 and then jumped in several times as a reserve driver. Just this year, he replaced Sebastian Vettel for the first race of the season. With his 12 years of experience, he would be an interesting choice for Haas.

Steiner has now officially confirmed that talks are underway with Hülkenberg. "I have indeed spoken to him. I have known Nico for a long time, and much better than I know Daniel [Ricciardo]. We have talked, but nothing has been decided yet."