Magnussen welcomes Hulkenberg to Haas, saying 2017 contretemps a thing of the past

Kevin Magnussen believes Nico Hulkenberg's experience will be a "great asset" to Haas when the duo form their driver line-up next year.

Hulkenberg has been chosen to race for Haas over Mick Schumacher, his fellow German who spent the last two seasons with the team but was not kept on for a third after crashing more often than he finished in the points.

Instead, Guenther Steiner and team owner Gene Haas have opted to hire a driver with whom Magnussen had contretemps in the media interview area after the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix, which ended with the Dane telling his rival to "suck my b***s".

A different situation

2023 marks a completely different situation for Haas to the start of the 2021 campaign when Schumacher and his then-teammate Nikita Mazepin had zero Grand Prix starts between them. For Magnussen and Hulkenberg, the combined total is 322.

It is that experience which Magnussen sees as being an advantage for Haas in 2023 with his 35-year-old new colleague a known quantity, even though he has not raced full-time in F1 since 2019.

"He will bring a lot of experience," Magnussen told the media. "It's well known that experience is invaluable in Formula 1.

"I feel he was always someone that was just about to get a top drive in his F1 career. He was always one of the good drivers and consistent ones, getting good results in a midfield car.

"That's what we need him to do here as well."

Lots of respect

Magnussen was asked about his relationship with Hulkenberg, who had opted for a light-hearted ice-breaker when the pair bumped into each other at the start of this season while the German was deputising for Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin.

"We don't really have a relationship. Everyone talks about our little thing in Hungary back in