Steiner reveals: ‘Hülkenberg only signed contract on Wednesday'

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner reveals that the contract with Nico Hülkenberg was only signed on Wednesday. It was rumoured that Mick Schumacher had been informed earlier that he would be replaced but Steiner thus denies that. Above all, the team wanted to give Schumacher time to develop.

By choosing Hülkenberg, Haas is mainly opting for experience, Steiner previously explained. Schumacher joined the pain-stricken Haas in 2021 as a rookie, which that season was mainly focused on season survival. Steiner and team owner Gene Haas also acknowledged then that the team only competed in that year in order to come back stronger in 2022. For newcomer Schumacher, that meant he had virtually no experience in the sport in his first season.

This is partly why it took so long for Haas to finally announce who will drive for the team next season. The team wanted to give Schumacher enough time to develop and prove himself. The final decision only fell last week, Steiner told GPBlog and others. "The contract with Hülkenberg was only signed [Wednesday]. There was no earlier point that we had already taken the decision. When I said 'I don't know yet' last summer, I didn't know yet."

"I think we supported Mick enough," the team boss continued. "It is unfair to say that it is Mick's fault that we are not where we would like to be, sometimes we as a team have also just not performed. We need to do better. But I think we did the best we could for Mick and treated him fairly. That was never a problem."