Nico Hülkenberg believes Kevin Magnussen deserves to be in the mix for the second Haas seat or a spot at another team as the 2025 F1 driver market continues to be intriguing.
Since the 36-year-old joined the American-owned team in 2023, he has beaten Magnussen 24-10 in Grand Prix qualifying, and he has outscored the Dane 31-8.
Last season, Magnussen struggled a lot with the car, particularly in qualifying as the car simply did not suit him. The 2014 Australian Grand Prix podium finisher struggles to deal with understeer.
However, with the monstrous tyre degradation they had last year on a Sunday, it made the gap to Hülkenberg in points (3-9) not look too bad.
This year Magnussen has looked closer in qualifying (3-9 down), although Hülkenberg has generally still had an edge. In Imola (blocked by Piastri) and Monaco (messy run plan), the Dane looked very competitive and potentially a shade quicker than his teammate.
Hülkenberg, who was massively helped by Magnussen in Saudi Arabia to score the team’s first point of the season, has backed his present teammate before he departs for Sauber next year.
With Oliver Bearman confirmed to take Hülkenberg’s spot for 2025, Magnussen’s F1 career is hanging by a thread. The German believes the 31-year-old should be considered by Ayao Komatsu and Haas to remain with the team as the margins have been quite close in 2024, even if the results on TV do not necessarily reflect it.
It’s 22-5 in the points battle between the pair, with Hülkenberg scoring 16 of those across the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone.
“Yeah, I think, for sure.
“Obviously it’s not my responsibility and not my decision at all, but I feel Kevin’s been also very consistent this year.
“There’s a few moments or sessions where really small details have made a difference between him and myself. And often on TV or the outcome on the result on the TV looks massive, but actually it’s really small stuff from when I look at it, and obviously I have more access to data and can see exactly what happened on his side.
“I think he’s doing a solid job, and I think he’s still a candidate very much for here or maybe also for other teams.”
