You’re right this isn’t Reddit, and whilst my comment was somewhat tongue in cheek, it still remains that Mick did around £3m worth of damage to his car in 2022.
Crashing heavily in Jeddah at the start of the season, for second time, having done so the previous season… Then splitting his car in half at Monaco…& in the second half of the season had a big shunt into the barriers during FP1 in Japan (October 2022), on an in lap…
Whilst he did improve, he’s been out of an F1 car for over 18months, & would probably not be the best option…
He’s the reserve driver for both Mercedes and McLaren, which means he spends a significant amount of time in simulators and occasionally gets test runs in their cars. He’s also done Pirelli tire testing and even had a shootout for Alpine. All done in more recent F1 cars than his Haas days.
No crashes, no complaints—just praise from several team principals. Steiner crafted a particular narrative around him, but without that, he’d likely be seen in the same light as Drugovich or any other experienced reserve driver familiar with Merc engines.
You’re right this isn’t Reddit, and whilst my comment was somewhat tongue in cheek, it still remains that Mick did around £3m worth of damage to his car in 2022. Crashing heavily in Jeddah at the start of the season, for second time, having done so the previous season… Then splitting his car in half at Monaco…& in the second half of the season had a big shunt into the barriers during FP1 in Japan (October 2022), on an in lap… Whilst he did improve, he’s been out of an F1 car for over 18months, & would probably not be the best option…
He’s the reserve driver for both Mercedes and McLaren, which means he spends a significant amount of time in simulators and occasionally gets test runs in their cars. He’s also done Pirelli tire testing and even had a shootout for Alpine. All done in more recent F1 cars than his Haas days.
No crashes, no complaints—just praise from several team principals. Steiner crafted a particular narrative around him, but without that, he’d likely be seen in the same light as Drugovich or any other experienced reserve driver familiar with Merc engines.
Hulkenberg has done alright.