“Good time to remember Mick was fired for crashing”: F1 fans react to Nico Hulkenberg’s crash in FP1 session at Zandvoort
Just after securing his seat for another season, Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg crashed in FP1 session at Zandvoort and caused a red flag.
After crashing on the way to the banked final curve during the Dutch Grand Prix FP1 session at Zandvoort, Nico Hulkenberg brought out the red flag. The Haas driver lost control of his VF-23 at Turn 13, and spun off into the gravel, damaging the new front wing the team had brought to the weekend.
Nico Hulkenberg jumped out of his car without any harm but his car did suffer a lot of damage. F1 fans who have been waiting for the sport to resume after a long summer break took to Twitter to react to Hulkenberg causing a red flag.
A fan even pointed out that ex-Haas driver Mick Schumacher was unable to retain his seat with the team since he was crashing too often.
Fans were even surprised that he crashed out just after extending his contract with Haas for the next season alongside his current teammate, Kevin Magnussen.
Hass team principal Guenther Steiner acknowledged that the team only had one more duplicate of the original design, but fortunately, the damage was fairly minor, affecting only the right-side endplate.
Before the incident, Hulkenberg, who was using the soft compound tires, had set the 15th-fastest time, while teammate Kevin Magnussen was in eighth place using the same set of tires.
The session resumed with only 11 minutes on the clock. The Dutch Grand Prix FP1 session ended with Max Verstappen leading the session with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in second followed by Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes.
Haas drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen extend their contract for the 2024 F1 season
Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen will remain with Haas F1 team for the 2024 season.
Both Hulkenberg and Magnussen are extremely seasoned drivers who received a career-saving boost from Haas. Their feedback, according to Steiner, had been "invaluable" in a trying 2023.
This season, Nico Hulkenberg took over from Mick Schumacher, returning to racing after a two-year sabbatical. He's alongside Magnussen, who rejoined the team after Haas parted ways with Russian driver Nikita Mazepin.
Magnussen is Haas' most successful and longest-serving driver, claiming the team's first F1 pole position at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix last year. Heading into the weekend at Zandvoort, the American team is currently eight in the constructors standing with 11 points.