F1 record holder wants to ‘recommend myself’ to rival teams with contract expiring

Follow us on Google Discover

Nico Hulkenberg wants to ‘recommend myself’ to rival Formula 1 teams in 2024 as the German knows he is not in a ‘top team’ at Haas and holds an expiring contract there.

Sakhir welcomes the travelling circus of Formula 1 back for pre-season testing at the end of the month. The Bahrain GP then awaits on March 2 to kick off the 2024 campaign and Haas’ second season with Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen driving the American team’s two cars.

Haas moved early to tie Magnussen and Hulkenberg down with new contracts last August. It is the first time they have continuity in the garage between campaigns since Magnussen and Romain Grosjean pedalled the cars from 2017 to 2020. But they only got one-year contracts.

Nico Hulkenberg admits ‘I’m not in a top team or car’ at Haas

Hulkenberg replaced Mick Schumacher at Haas for the 2023 season to book his return to F1 after three years away. The 36-year-old had not enjoyed a full-time race seat since the 2019 term. He spent the in-between years as Racing Point and then Aston Martin’s reserve driver.

But it was hardly the return to Formula 1 that Hulkenberg would have craved as Haas fell to 10th in the constructors’ championship. He further scored just nine points all year with a P7 result at the Australian GP in April and a P6 finish in the Sprint at the Austrian GP come July.

Nico Hulkenberg wants to ‘recommend myself’ to rival F1 teams

Now, Hulkenberg wants to help Haas improve in 2024 but also showcase his skills to rival F1 teams to potentially earn a contract. RacingNews365 has cited the German as an option for Audi to place at Sauber in 2025 with Stake F1 Team turning into its factory entry from 2026.

“I know I’m not in a top team or a top car,” Hulkenberg has told Sky Germany. “But my job is simply to make the best of it. [I want to] try to move Haas forward and get the best out of it for myself and recommend myself for other tasks or, perhaps, for a future here.”

Hulkenberg holds the record for the most Formula 1 starts without finishing a Grand Prix on the podium. He sits on 203 starts from 206 entries ahead of the 2024 season and is unlikely to break that duck with Haas. The German only scored points in one Grand Prix last season.