As Mick Schumacher’s Career Dwindles, Haas Teammate Opens His Arms to Rumored F1 Replacement Nico Hulkenberg

With just 2 more races left in the season, Haas has still not finalized whether Mick Schumacher will continue with them next season. They admitted to being in talks with Nico Hulkenberg as well, but that too isn’t progressing anywhere. Kevin Magnussen, who’s had his fair share of run-ins with Hulkenberg in the past, has moved on and has no problem with the man who he could be sharing the garage with, in 2023.

Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg were involved in some on-track incidents in the past. That was back when Nico was a regular driver in Formula 1. After one such incident, the feud spilled outside of the track, which gained a lot of media attention.

Is Kevin Magnussen okay with having Nico Hulkenberg as his teammate?

That incident happened during the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix. During the final few laps of the race, Hulkenberg in his Renault made a lunge, taking the outside line. Magnussen did not leave him any space and resultantly pushed him off the track. Magnussen was later in one of his post-race interviews, where Nico approached him and gave a sarcastic appreciation. The Dane responded, “s*ck my b*lls”.

The incident was a big talk of the town in the F1 realm. Magnussen now, however, maintains he has moved on from that time and actually respects Hulkenberg as a driver. He said, “I think I’ve said many times now, that I don’t have a problem with Nico at all.” The Haas driver added, “Actually, I respect him as a racing driver, I don’t really know him as a person. But certainly as a racing driver, I’ve always respected him so I would have no problem.”

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Mick Schumacher was earlier given an ultimatum by team principal Guenther Steiner that he would only keep his seat if he scores some points for the team in the remaining races. Two races have passed since then and Mick has scored no points.

Guenther Steiner backtracks on his promise with Mick Schumacher

While failing to score points is a factor that endangered Mick’s future at Haas, it’s the frequent crashes that have hurt them more. Being a team that runs on a tight budget, Haas can not have Mick crashing the car beyond recognition too often. This was earlier highlighted by team owner Gene Haas.

He wanted Mick to prove his worth by scoring more points. But now it seems even that won’t help him keep the seat in 2023. Steiner recently said, “For me, it’s no longer about one race, one lap. For me, it’s about what’s best for the Haas team in the medium to long term.” [Translated using Google] He continued, “It’s not like they said that if Mick scores points now, he has the place or not.”

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It will be interesting to see if Haas announces its lineup before the season ends. We just have two more races to go. Who do you think will partner with Kevin Magnussen in 2023? Will it be his current teammate? Or will it be his old nemesis, Nico Hulkenberg? Someone else, perhaps?