Hulkenberg dismisses Magnussen F1 partnership theory

Nico Hulkenberg has hailed the strong partnership he shares with Kevin Magnussen at Haas.

The duo have been paired together since the start of last year when the US-owned squad opted to sign Hulkenberg in place of Mick Schumacher.

Questions were raised over how the two would cooperate following an infamous post-race incident in 2017.

Following the Hungarian Grand Prix that year, Hulkenberg labelled the Dane as the “most unsporting driver on the grid”, prompting Magnussen to respond with his now infamous “suck my balls” comment while being interviewed by broadcast media.

After ending last year's campaign at the bottom of the standings, Haas scored its first point of the campaign in Saudi Arabia when Magnussen played a team game by holding up rival cars to allow Hulkenberg to make a pit stop and re-emerge inside the top 10.

“It's been good,” said Hulkenberg of his partnership with Magnussen. “It's been pretty positive and smooth.

“No problems, friction or whatever. A lot of people were maybe expecting that [there would be issues] because of the story five years ago but it's been quite the opposite.”

Haas drivers 'pretty aligned'

Neither Hulkenberg nor Magnussen are currently signed to Haas beyond the current campaign. The former has emerged as a shock name thrown into the mix to replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

From Hulkenberg's perspective, however, the pairing has worked, highlighted by the fact they often did not need instruction from the pit wall at grands prix last year.

“We've actually bonded really well and work well together, I feel,” Hulkenberg added.

“On track, there have been a few situations last year where we didn't even hold each other up, when we knew we were on different tyres, different strategies, and it didn't even need a radio call.

“On the set-up side and what we want from the car, I think we're also pretty aligned and work in the same direction. So [it's] very good.”