As the checkered flag fell on the 2021 United States Grand Prix, Nico Hulkenberg was actually preparing to get into a car in America rather than out of one. Not in Austin, though, but some 750 miles away at Barber Motorsports Park.
Hulkenberg was readying himself for an IndyCar test with McLaren, and it gave me an excuse to make the trip over to the picturesque facility in Alabama to see how he fared. But it would prove to be a one-off.
“I did it obviously with a very serious view and consideration of making a transition to to IndyCar, to U.S. racing, but something inside of me said ‘no, it’s not the right thing to do, don’t do it’,” Hulkenberg tells RACER from the Haas Formula 1 motorhome. “And I guess if I had done it I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now, so in the end it was the right gut feeling I guess.”
Both sides opted against another evaluation and Hulkenberg was more than comfortable with the decision, as he wasn’t quite ready for a full-time racing return. Certainly not to F1 at that stage, anyway.
“At the end of the Renault time, I don’t know, I just lost my mojo a bit. I didn’t enjoy it so much anymore,” he says. “A couple of things had happened as well, during the season, internally with management. And somehow, it wasn’t a happy place anymore, swiping into the paddock. So I felt at the end of 2019 I knew that the right thing to do was to step away, take some time and then refresh, reset, which is what I did. So that was really nice.
“But then in 2022, I started to feel the itch again, and the desire to be on the grid and to be in the competition. So I started making some calls. Obviously there wasn’t a huge amount of potential deals out there, and it was pretty clear that it’ll come down to here (Haas).
“I think I was on Guenther and Gene’s back from summer last year, quite annoyingly and persistent! I wanted to convince them that this is the right thing to do to hire me. And, it paid off, it worked.”
Hulkenberg did make a number of substitute appearances for Racing Point and Aston Martin in both 2020 and 2022, but those hadn’t been enough to convince him that the time was right to start chasing a seat. While many drivers appear fearful of dropping off the grid, the German found it was a simple decision to take a step back.
“No, no it wasn’t tough, because I somehow knew that I needed to do that,” he says. “Obviously every career is different, but in 2019 I had almost 10 years in F1, which is a fair amount of time – almost 200 races – and I kind of felt like if I’m here but not the best version of myself, that’s not the point. And I didn’t want to do it like that. So yeah, it was pretty clear for me.”
The break marked a major time in Hulkenberg’s personal life, as he married his long-time girlfriend in the summer of 2021 and then became a father a few months later, a period that he says has helped him find the right work/life balance even when he returning to an environment as intense as the F1 paddock.
That’s been further helped by how well Hulkenberg has integrated himself into his new team as a relaxed and engaging 35-year-old who has returned in good form, finishing seventh in Melbourne and regularly outqualifying teammate Kevin Magnussen.
“I think it always has got to be a two-way street,” he says. “I just feel when I obviously signed the deal and connected with the team, initially last year that there was instantly a good connection and a good harmony with the people in the team.
“It’s something that I’ve always had. You work closely with these people, you spend a lot of time during the year with them and you want to get on, you want to bond, you want to have the banter in between. It’s pretty serious at times, but we have to laugh sometimes, too. And, yeah, I think it just works.”
Across a career that started at Williams and also took in Force India and Sauber, has Haas provided Hulkenberg with surroundings that make him the happiest he has ever been in the sport?
“That’s always easy to say, but going back more than 10 years, in time and memories, I’ve had good years and good times,” he says. “And in all the years I’ve been here, I’ve had difficult times too, I’ve had in all different ways.
“But I’m good. I’m happy. I’m obviously a bit older, more mature. This time away, being back now, I guess there’s a bit more appreciation for this, a fresh mindset after the break. And therefore, just glad and happy to be back.”
He’s not alone. Magnussen himself says the addition of Hulkenberg provides him with much more support in debriefs and planning meetings, as the pair either reinforce each other’s opinion or provide a fresh perspective the other can trust. The team obviously benefits from that too, but then there are the fans who were so keen to see him return that they kept demanding ‘Hulkenback’ and creating a wave of support on social media.
“Some of the Hulkenbacks, there was so much coverage and support more than some times in my entire F1 career,” he says. “I think the first Hulkenback, I had so much coverage in Germany, that was nuts! And I gave it a real push. And obviously, the Hulkenbacks were a big, contributing factor of making a return to to Haas.
“But I think every driver feels that the popularity now because of Netflix, because somehow F1 is cool it is on the radar of a lot more people. You do feel it, even in the airports, walking in the towns, wherever we go – pretty much every race is sold out. Tons of support. And it’s great to be part of that again.”
Even the way he answers questions seems to be in a manner that Hulkenberg doesn’t loathe quite as much as he used to. He really is just reveling in being back, in much the way his new teammate was 12 months ago. He even wants this interview to be good as he gets up to leave the table.
“Don’t f*** it up!” he adds with a grin.