Nico Hulkenberg could be back in the F1 saddle in 2023, with a report from Germany claiming that the Aston Martin reserve driver is the favourite to inherit Mick Schumacher's seat at Haas.
While Schumacher's results have improved over the summer, they likely won't be enough to convince Haas to retain the young gun for next season.
Also, the 23-year-old is set to leave Ferrari's Driver Academy at the end of the year, which takes away a pillar of support enjoyed by the German with his Ferrari-powered team since his promotion to F1 in 2021.
Both Alpine and Williams have a seat to fill for 2023, but with a plethora of candidates coveting the latter, Schumacher is up against some tough competition, starting with departing McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo.
Last weekend at Zandvoort, Haas team boss Guenther Steiner said that he was in no hurry to designate the driver that will race alongside Kevin Magnussen at the US outfit next year.
But according to Auto Motor und Sport, F1 super-sub Nico Hulkenberg is currently top of Haas' list to take over Schumacher's drive.
The seasoned F1 veteran, 35, enjoyed his late full season in F1 in 2019 with Renault. In 2020, he replaced Covid-stricken Racing Point drivers Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll at three races.
This year, Hulkenberg remained in the wings at Team Silverstone and was called upon by the Aston Martin outfit to substitute for Sebastian Vettel – who tested positive for Covid - in the first two races of the season, in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia.
After his outings with Aston Martin, Hulkenberg said that he would still be up for a full-time effort in F1, if a good opportunity arises.
Hulkenberg holds an unenviable record in F1 as the driver who has undertaken the greatest number of race starts in his career - 181 - without ever clinching a podium.
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