The American team has announced the renewal of both their drivers ‘contracts, confirming that their 2023 driver line-up will be retained for another year.
It will be a second season with Haas for former Racing Point and Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg, who joined the team after years on the side-lines as Reserve Driver for Aston Martin. His best result of the season is a P7 in Australia, but the German driver had been in the run for a podium in the chaotic race.
Kevin Magnussen will instead start his seventh season working for Gene Haas, returning to the team at the beginning of the 2022 season to sub in for Nikita Mazepin after a one year hiatus. The Danish driver scored two tenth places in 2023.
Haas is eight in the constructors’standings at the moment, level on points with Williams at 11 for what has definitely been not the team’s worst season ever after ending 2021 with no points, but doesn’t seem as impressive as last season, when the team managed by Gunther Steiner had scored 37 points and a pole position, in spite of the position in the standings being the same.
In the announcement issued by the team to confirm the drivers on their website, considerable focus is put on the experience and consistency provided by the “veteran” lineup, which is and will definitely remain a big asset and aid in improving the VF-23:
“MoneyGram Haas F1 Team will enter the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship with continuity at the heart of its driver line-up – the American squad retaining the current pairing of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen into next season’s record-breaking 24-race calendar.”
Photo credits: MoneyGram Haas F1 Team
The news was very positively commented by Haas’ Team Principal Guenther Steiner, highlighting the main strengths of the duo: “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 went on to praise his drivers and the added values they bring to the team in terms of ability and knowledge, coming from their consistent paddock experience:
“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 colors. With 113 starts for our team alone, we know where his strengths lie and his knowledge and experience of our organization 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 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,” he concluded, stating his hopes for an improved team performance in the next season.
In spite of admitting that 2023 hasn’t been as positive and victorious as he had hoped, Magnussen is very pleased to extend his relationship with Gene Haas’s team for another year, mentioning the hard work already going into preparing the new verision of the VF-23:
“I’m obviously very happy to see my relationship with MoneyGram Haas F1 Team extended once again. 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 Gene Haas and Guenther Steiner for giving me the opportunity to keep racing in the sport I love.”
His teammate stated his pleasure with the renewal as well, adding that the security from having sorted the contract details for 2024 will help him to focus on his and his team’s goals better
“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,” Hulkenberg concluded.
