So far, Nico Hulkenberg‘s return to the top step of motorsport with Haas has fallen short of what he deserved. And unfortunately, that’s reflective of how his career has unfolded. The German made his debut in 2010, after winning the GP2 Championship in 2009. But his achievements in GP2 never saw a transition into Formula 1. Despite setting a pole position in his debut year, Hulkenberg has never gotten a podium in almost 200 career races. This is a record he has been eager to break for long. But has lacked a seat to do so in the last few years.

That is until Guenther Steiner and Haas came knocking. The German was given a shot at redemption alongside Kevin Magnussen, and he was looking to impress after being a reserve driver for 3 years. He scored an impressive 6 points at the Australian GP. However, Haas’ performances lately have been lackluster, denying the German an opportunity to fight for points, let alone podiums. But Hulkenberg is hoping a ‘big jump in performance’ will help him and Haas please the home crowd in Austin. They also have a surprise eye candy in store for the American fans!

Will the new update bring glory to Haas?

With their home race right around the corner, Haas is looking to make a statement in front of their adoring fans. They have presented a special livery with ‘We The People’ – the opening words of the American Constitution, integrated into the design. Along with the iconic stars and stripes! But that’s not all they have in store for their fans. The team is also bringing an Aero package to the weekend, looking to make the VF-23 a formidable force. There are rumors Haas has gone the Racing Point route and taken notes from Red Bull.

But here’s what Nico Hulkenberg had to say about the update, as quoted by GPblog, “The update is highly anticipated, it’s been a long time coming and it’s aimed to improve our performance, characteristics, and the weaknesses of the car we’ve found which has made us struggle especially on Sunday. It’s to help tire wear, consistency, and better performance.”  Haas has been on the back foot in terms of development, but that may pay off. The team can make such a huge change because they are well within the cost cap.

“Kevin [Magnussen] and I since the beginning of the season, or after every session, have feedback on our findings and feelings to the engineers and designers. Hopefully, there’s a big jump in performance, but also, we need direction for next year – where we’re going to go with this car, which philosophy we’ll follow, and which direction to take,”. Hulkenberg is hopeful that the feedback he and his teammate have provided to the team will bear fruit at Austin, and for the season to come.

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Nico Hulkenberg is hopeful Haas will help him break the curse

While Nico Hulkenberg’s comeback this season fell short of what he expected. The team has scored points on several occasions and hasn’t made any proven progress so far. Time is not on the 36-year-old’s side either. He only has a little time to break the curse of going so many races without a podium.

He commented on the car’s performance so far, “Obviously on track, it hasn’t delivered what we’d hoped for. Being able to capitalize on Saturday’s pace and show off what the car and I can do has been fun, but points are given on Sunday so the trend of falling back during the race hasn’t been fun.” 

The American outfit is looking to fix this issue of losing out during race days.“Nonetheless, I’ve enjoyed working with this team and building those relationships with the crew in the garage, and my engineering team and getting to meet the team working hard back at the factories. This update is an indication of what this team strives for and I’m looking forward to the upcoming races and the next season with them,”

Nico Hulkenberg is hopeful his work with the team will bear fruit in Austin. It will be interesting to see if the German can achieve a podium & put an end to the joking narrative by the fans on his podium drought.

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With his performances back in the Haas after spending ample time on the sidelines, he is looking confident. But with time running out, Haas is hoping their update does its magic!