Haas has locked in its current driver pairing for the 2024 Formula 1 season as it continues to opt for experience over youth.
Kevin Magnussen will drive his seventh season for the American outfit, and third in a row – after being dumped post-2020, then returning in 2022 to replace Russian Nikita Mazepin – taking him towards 200 F1 starts.
Nico Hulkenberg was brought back from three seasons as an Aston Martin reserve, following a lengthy career at Williams, Force India and Renault, and has shown excellent one-lap pace but like his teammate struggled with tyre wear during races.
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He sits 14th in the drivers’ championship, thanks to a seventh-place in Australia plus a sixth in the Austria sprint, with Magnussen 18th after 10ths in Saudi Arabia and Miami.
Haas sits eighth in the constructors, level with Williams on 11 points, and ahead of Alfa Romeo (9) and AlphaTauri (3).
“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,” Haas team principal Gunther Steiner said.
“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.
“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.”
It’s unclear whether either driver has been signed past the 2024 campaign.
Haas had been considered an option for Daniel Ricciardo before his decision to take the Red Bull reserve driver role, which has led to his return at AlphaTauri.
With another two seats now locked up it gives fewer opportunities to Formula 2 standouts, including Australia’s Jack Doohan who sits fourth in the championship after a feature race win at Spa-Francorchamps.
