Replacing Mick Schumacher with Nico Hulkenberg at Haas 'doesn't make any sense', feels former Red Bull engineer

Former Red Bull performance engineer Blake Hinsey spoke about Mick Schumacher getting replaced by Nico Hulkenberg. Hinsey previously worked with Hulkenberg on the Force India F1 team. However, he is unsure about the move and feels that young Schumacher should've been given more time on the grid.

According to GPFans, Red Bull's former engineer expressed his confusion over Nico Hulkenberg's move. While Schumacher was gradually finding his feet in F1, Haas parted ways with the German simply because they wanted a more experienced driver. However, Hinsey wasn't able to make sense of the move and wanted to see more of Schumacher. He said:

"I like Nico, because he was on the other car when I was at Force India. He's a good driver - is he going to be better in two years than Mick would be in two years? I have no idea. And that's super hard to tell! It seems like Mick didn't really push. He was just really finding his feet and had a couple of moments in the middle of the season where you're like, 'Alright, alright', but now it's super hard to say. It's a really weird appointment and I think it doesn't make any sense to me."

Many fans were surprisingly happy to see Mick Schumacher leave Haas at the end of the 2022 F1 season. This was because there were rumors that the team didn't have a positive environment, which a rookie needs to grow and gain experience.

Haas, on the other hand, badly needed experienced drivers who could deliver and take the team further up the field and were not ready to nurture a young driver. Furthermore, Schumacher's two major crashes in the 2022 F1 season cost the team quite a lot of money for repairs, something they hardly had compared to other top teams. Due to these reasons, the team had to part ways with Schumacher.

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Haas team boss feels Mick Schumacher is in good hands with Mercedes

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner recently spoke about how Mick Schumacher is in a good position after joining Mercedes as a third driver. The Silver Arrows could offer a lot of opportunities to the young German as he tries to stay in F1 and return to the grid in the future. Speaking to RTL, Steiner said:

“I think he is in a good position with Mercedes. Mercedes has many sibling teams. [Nyck de Vries] jumped in at Williams and got a regular cockpit at AlphaTauri through this route. [Schumacher is] in a good position. I hope for no driver’s sake that he can’t drive."

He further added:

"But if there is a possibility, Mick can sit in and drive. Sometimes one step back is two steps forward. He’s put himself in a good position with a team where he has the best chance for a regular cockpit in the future.”

Mick Schumacher is currently with Mercedes as their third driver and will help the team develop their cars. He has also been recently appointed as McLaren's third driver.