Ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, Haas have confirmed that they’ll be retaining Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg for 2024.
Both drivers only had deals until the end of this season, with Haas deciding to finalise their line-up for next season well ahead of the conclusion of 2023.
It’s been a mixed year for Haas, who have often shown surprisingly good pace in qualifying.
Hulkenberg in particular has been sensational over one-lap since making his comeback to the sport, having previously not competed in a full season since 2019.
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The German has been a regular in Q3 this season, highlighting his one-lap performance in the midfield team.
Points haven’t been easy for Haas though, who’ve often fallen backwards in the races.
The American side find themselves joint-seventh in the Constructors’ Championship on 11 points with Williams, although Alfa Romeo are just two points adrift.
Should the team improve their race pace, then top 10 finishes will come for the experienced Hulkenberg and Magnussen, who team principal Guenther Steiner has been very impressed with.
“I think it’s safe to say that we’ve had an extremely solid driver pairing this season in Formula 1 and ultimately there was no reason to look to change that moving forward,” Steiner said, as reported by Sky Sports F1.
“Kevin is obviously a very well-known quantity to us, and I’m delighted he’ll return for what will be his seventh season in Haas colours. With 113 starts for our team alone, we know where his strengths lie and his knowledge and experience of our organisation pairs very well with that too.
“On the other side of the garage, Nico’s simply slotted in without fuss or fanfare and proved himself to be a valuable member of the team. He’s approaching 200 starts in Formula 1 and we’re very happy to be the beneficiary of that experience behind the wheel.”
Hulkenberg really has been one of the stars of the season, with nobody having quite known what to expect ahead of his return.
He’s actually been the stronger of the two Haas drivers, and sits 14th in the Drivers’ Championship on nine points.
The experienced German is happy to get his deal for 2024 sorted so soon, allowing him to keeping focused.
“It’s nice to get things sorted early for next season to just keep the focus on racing and improving performance,” Hulkenberg said.
“I enjoy being part of the team and share Gene and Guenther’s passion for it. We’re competing in a very tight midfield and I’m looking forward to building on what we’ve done together so far and taking that forward into 2024.”
2023 hasn’t been the best of seasons for Magnussen, who looked stronger in 2022.
He has scored just two points in the opening 12 races but is confident that he can work with the team to get the car into a good window for the end of 2023 and into 2024.
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“I’m obviously very happy to see my relationship with MoneyGram Haas F1 Team extended once again,” Magnussen said.
“My return in 2022 had been unexpected but was filled with numerous highlights, and although this season hasn’t gone quite as we’d hoped, we’ve still managed to get into the points and shown potential in the package we have.
“There’s plenty of racing remaining in 2023 and we’ve got a lot of work to do to continue to understand the VF-23 – that learning can be applied into the 2024 car.”