Nico Hulkenberg has backed team-mate Kevin Magnussen to still have a chance at retaining his spot in Formula 1 as Haas closes on a decision over its 2025 line-up.
Hulkenberg has held the measure over Magnussen since arriving at Haas last term as he extracted more from an uncompetitive VF-23 car to register six more points.
The trend has continued into the current campaign as Hulkenberg has capitalised on Haas’ recent progress to register consecutive sixth places in Austria and Britain.
But Magnussen has been unable to replicate Hulkenberg’s stellar results and now trails 17 points behind his team-mate, who will be departing to Sauber next season.
Oliver Bearman has been confirmed as Hulkenberg’s replacement, while outgoing Alpine driver Esteban Ocon is touted as the favourite to partner the Ferrari prospect.
However, Hulkenberg believes his advantage over Magnussen is closer than the points indicate and is adamant the Dane should still be a contender to keep his drive.
Asked whether he considers Magnussen to have a shot at extending his long-standing partnership with the American squad, Hulkenberg replied: “Yeah, I think for sure.
“Obviously, it’s not my responsibility and not my decision at all. But Kevin’s been also very consistent this year.
“There were a few moments in sessions where really small details made a difference between him and myself and, often on TV, the outcome or the result looks massive but, actually, it’s really small stuff from when I look at it, and obviously I have more access to data and see exactly what happened on his side.
“So I think he’s doing a solid job. I think he’s still a candidate, very much, for Haas or maybe some other teams.”
During the recent Silverstone weekend, Haas Team Principal Auao Komatsu revealed that it was edging closer towards publishing who will slot in alongside Bearman.
“We have a shortlist and talking to several drivers and it’s getting towards the end of the process,” Komatsu addressed. “That of course includes Kevin.”
Haas has been running Bearman in several FP1 outings since last season and has been impressed enough to hand him a promotion to a full-time race seat next term.
The Briton conducted his maiden F1 race in unexpected circumstances in Saudi Arabia in March as he replaced the sidelined Carlos Sainz and raced to seventh place.
Hulkenberg has admitted that he will be keeping a watch on Bearman’s progress from afar as he expects the 19-year-old to encounter challenges in his rookie season.
“Congratulations, obviously first of all, to him and his team,” the German expressed. “He’s a young talent, with a lot of potential.
“It’s going to be interesting how he’s going to acclimatize on his arrival into Formula 1 as a rookie, there’s so much to learn, so much to process and he will be at the start of his career.
“Just do a good job. It’s simple – in F1, you have to perform, it’s all about performance. That’s everything that matters.”
