Hulkenberg was signed for 2023 to replace the accident-prone Mick Schumacher, who scored points in his second season of F1 but also showed an alarming tendency to cost the team high repair bills.
This followed a three-year spell where Hulkenberg was often called upon as a super-sub at Racing Point and Aston Martin, jumping into the car at short notice during three separate COVID-19 diagnoses.
In 2020, Hulkenberg stepped in for Sergio Perez at the Silverstone team for the British and 70th Anniversary grands prix at Silverstone, qualifying third for the latter and finishing seventh. He also replaced Lance Stroll for a race that year at the Nurburgring.
The German was also called up at the start of 2022 to cover Sebastian Vettel in the opening two races of that season.
Reflecting on his decision to sign Hulkenberg, Steiner explained that he feared the Rhinelander would need time to fully reacquaint himself with the day-to-day work as an F1 driver - but his anxieties were quickly relieved.
"I've been pretty, pretty impressed. We took him for one reason, because we know we can drive a race car. The doubt was after three years as not a full-time driver, how long does it take him to catch up?" Steiner explained.
"It didn't take him any time because he was there from day one, which is very good. It's actually very impressive, but also as a human being, he tries to help the team and that's what we wanted with the experience, that's what I always said.
Source: Autosport