Nico Hulkenberg sets his goals ahead of 2023 F1 return

2023 F1 returnee Nico Hulkenberg has claimed he has to be realistic about his goals with Haas next year. The German driver will replace Mick Schumacher at the American outfit, returning to the sport in a full-time capacity for the first time since 2019.

Mick Schumacher failed to impress in his two-year stint with Haas, having been regularly outperformed by his teammate Kevin Magnussen this year. As a result, the German driver lost his F1 seat and will take on the role of a third driver at Mercedes in 2023.

Hulkenberg was called on by Guenther Steiner and Co. to replace Schumacher. Now much wiser at the age of 35, Nico Hulkenberg claims he wants to maximize his team's performance in 2023. The German claims to have realistic expectations for 2023 and is looking forward to returning to the sport.

He told the media:

"I think you've got to be realistic about [your] dreams and goals. For me, [the goal] is to just maximise what we have. Obviously [it depends] on how competitive the package is that you race, but there are always circumstances for opportunities so you can get lucky some day. But I think we just need to maximise every race weekend to leave nothing on the table and to score the best possible result."

Nico Hulkenberg highlighted his reasons for returning to the sport

Nico Hulkenberg has said that the race in Miami brought back his urge to race in F1 again. The driver took a backseat from racing in F1 at the end of the 2019 season. He was the reserve driver for Aston Martin for the last few years and raced five times during this period. The German will now make a return to the sport next season, replacing Mick Schumacher at Haas.

In an interview with AMuS, Hulkenberg talked about how his yearning to return to F1 came back. He said:

"Maybe around the race in Miami. That was a gigantic event. The track, the cars and the atmosphere pulled me back in. From then on, I wanted to get my kick back and compete. This has intensified more and more."

With Haas, the veteran driver hopes to get to grips with his new machinery in good time, getting a feel for all the related processes and procedures. He said:

"I want to get a feel for the car, get a taste of Formula 1 and clock up kilometers. This is an extra test day for me. Next year before Bahrain each driver has only one and a half days. That is not much. That's why every round is important to get used to the processes and procedures again and to get to know the new team. And to identify things about the car that can be improved."

This is perhaps Nico Hulkenberg's last chance to impress in F1. It will be interesting to see if he fares better than Mick Schumacher with Haas.