Formula 1: Nico Hulkenberg rumored to replace Romain Grosjean at Haas in 2020

Nico Hulkenberg has been rumored as a potential replacement candidate for Romain Grosjean at Haas for the 2020 Formula 1 season.

Several races into the 2018 Formula 1 season, it appeared as though Romain Grosjean would not be returning to Haas for the 2019 season due to a lack of performance. However, with a strong second half of the year, he saved his job, and he along with teammate Kevin Magnussen returned to the team for the 2019 season.

However, Grosjean’s underperformance and error-proneness so far in the 2019 season has prompted similar rumors that he may lose his ride after the season ends.

Through 12 races in the 2018 season, he had scored 21 points and been forced to retire from four races. Through 12 races so far this year, he has scored only eight points and been forced to retire from a series-high six races.

Magnussen’s seat is supposedly open for next season even though he previously stated that his contract with the team lasts through the 2020 season.

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But even if there is a clause in it that was triggered by something that happened earlier this year (teammate contact, perhaps?) to allow Haas to replace him, he is expected to return to the team next year.

As a result, all eyes are on Grosjean’s seat as they pertain to the future driver lineup of Formula 1’s lone American outfit.

Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg has been rumored as a potential replacement candidate for the 33-year-old Frenchman, albeit through a lengthy chain of events that would have to go down to make this a considerable possibility.

Valtteri Bottas’s contract with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport expires at the end of the 2019 season, and there have been rumors that he will be replaced by Mercedes reserve driver and former Sahara/Racing Point Force India driver Esteban Ocon.

However, Bottas has now been tipped to return to the team, and as a result, Ocon has been tipped to replace Hulkenberg at Renault.

Hulkenberg previously stated that it was “likely” that he would return to the French marque next year, but the Ocon development stems from last year.

Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff and Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul had a handshake agreement to send Ocon, a former Renault test driver, to Renault for the 2019 season as Hulkenberg’s teammate to replace Carlos Sainz Jr..

However, Abiteboul backed out of this handshake agreement when Daniel Ricciardo became available. Ricciardo made the shocking decision to leave Aston Martin Red Bull Racing after the 2018 season, and he signed a two-year contract with Renault.

As a result, Wolff encouraged Abiteboul to “restore his gentleman image” by signing Ocon for the 2020 season, which was also a subliminal revelation that he was not quite ready for him to replace Bottas at the factory Mercedes team quite yet, and this appears slated to happen.

Hulkenberg and Magnussen’s history together isn’t all that pretty, specifically as it pertains to their spat during the weekend of the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix, but that is reportedly “water under the bridge”.

While Hulkenberg has struggled this season, Renault have struggled as a whole. He sits in 14th place in the driver standings and trails Ricciardo in 11th by five points (22 to 17), but Renault sit in sixth in the constructor standings after a season during which they finished as the “best of the rest” team in fourth and Hulkenberg finished as the “best of the rest” driver in seventh.

Will Nico Hulkenberg replace Romain Grosjean at Haas for the 2020 Formula 1 season? The scenarios that would set up such a move all look ready to be confirmed, so we should know the answer to this question in the very near future.

Toto Wolff previously stated that he would like to announce whether Valtteri Bottas will be back with Mercedes or Esteban Ocon will be replacing him next year by the end of August, so that appears slated to be the first major domino in this situation.