No surprises there tbh.
I’m not surprised about them keeping both in the end, but I’m a bit surprised how early it was announced. I would’ve expected them to explore possible options a bit longer, especially from the point of view of pairing Hülkenberg with a young driver. Seems like they prefer to stick with the safe choice.
This is very true. I also didn’t expect them to announce it this early… but as I mentioned in another comment “never change a winning team”.
But to all fairness, they a both doing great. As you mentioned, I also think they prefer more experienced drivers… and who is left in this category?
Gene was at the last or second-to-last racing weekend and they clearly signed back then.
Yeh, not sure who they could get that would be an upgrade, Bottas or Albon? Neither are likely to move there I would think?
The only alternative would be to take on a youth academy driver from someone else for extra money or cheaper parts. But considering how expensive Mick ended up being for them, I guess Haas is vary of that option.
My thoughts exactly, Hulk and KMag perform well or well enough to keep them - never change a “winning” team.
And money wise they are also doing quite ok with the MoneyGram deal, if I’m not mistaken.
The 2023 campaign is Hulkenberg’s first for Haas after he spent the three preceding seasons acting as a reserve driver for the Racing Point/Aston Martin team, while Magnussen is Haas’s longest-serving driver.
The pair currently sit 14th and 18th in the 2023 drivers’ standings, with Haas eighth in the constructors’ championship on 11 points, after the first half of its campaign was dominated by in-race tyre wear problems that restricted its points-scoring chances despite usually showing good promise in qualifying.
“I think it’s safe to say that we’ve had an extremely solid driver pairing this season in F1 and ultimately there was no reason to look to change that moving forward,” said Haas team principal, Gunther Steiner.
“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 [Romain Grosjean is next up on 96] 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.
“We’ve had to tackle our issues this season with regards to the VF-23, we don’t hide from that, but we’ve been extremely fortunate to have had two drivers whose feedback is invaluable in assisting our engineering objectives.
“Kevin and Nico gelled well right from the get-go and together they’ve both scored points, and in particular, Nico has excelled in qualifying – getting into Q3 on six occasions.
“[Both] are clearly enjoying their time in the sport, they both have mature heads on their shoulders, and they fundamentally understand what it is we’re asking of them.
“In turn, now it’s down to us as a team to look ahead to 2024 and ensure we have a car that’s capable of scoring points consistently.”
The announcement of Haas retaining its current driver pairing was revealed ahead of the media day for this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
In its official statement, Haas did not reveal any information on the length of either driver’s contract situation – bar stating Hulkenberg and Magnussen have been signed “into next season’s record-breaking 24-race calendar” with “continuity at the heart of its driver line-up”.
In 2023, Magnussen was nearing the end of the “multi-year” deal he signed to replace Nikita Mazepin at Haas on the eve of last season after he’d been dropped by the team along with then team-mate Grosjean after the end of 2020.
Hulkenberg’s 2023 deal was not given such a designation, but was understood to have an option covering 2024, which suggests both he and Magnussen will need further discussions to continue at Haas beyond next year.
“I’m obviously very happy to see my relationship with Haas extended once again,” said Magnussen.
“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.
“My thanks, as always, go to [team owner] Gene Haas and Guenther Steiner for giving me the opportunity to keep racing in the sport I love.”
Hulkenberg, who is set to hit 200 F1 races at the upcoming Mexican GP, said: “It’s nice to get things sorted early for next season to just keep the focus on racing and improving performance.
“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.”
How about Haas stop doing business with Russia?
I didn’t know there was still a Russian connection after Mazepin?
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