Nico Hulkenberg backs Haas candidate for second F1 2025 seat after replacement named

Nico Hulkenberg believes Kevin Magnussen is still very much a contender to keep his seat with Haas for 2025, as rumour swirls around Esteban Ocon’s apparent arrival.

One of the Haas seats has been taken for F1 2025, meaning Kevin Magnussen’s chances of staying on with the American team have shrunk as speculation has linked Esteban Ocon with the second seat.

Nico Hulkenberg backs Kevin Magnussen to retain Haas seat

Heading into the British Grand Prix weekend, Haas confirmed the signing of reserve driver Oliver Bearman to a race seat for F1 2025, with the Ferrari junior having impressed by finishing seventh in his F1 debut when he deputised for the ill Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Hulkenberg has already signed up to join Sauber for 2025, ahead of the team’s takeover by Audi to become a factory driver for the German marque. With one cockpit left at Haas, the big question mark is whether Kevin Magnussen can do enough to convince team boss Ayao Komatsu to be granted another contract.

Magnussen has struggled to match Hulkenberg’s performances for most of their time together as teammates and, in the first half of 2024, has been outscored 22 points to five – although some of Hulkenberg’s points have come about as a result of Magnussen sacrificing himself to serve as a valiant rear defence.

Magnussen’s stiffest competition for the seat appears to be Esteban Ocon. The French driver is without contract for 2025 as his departure from Alpine has already been confirmed, and speculation has linked Ocon with the vacant Haas cockpit – to the point where some publications claim the deal has already been finalised.

The move hasn’t yet been confirmed by Haas and, until that point, there’s still hope for Magnussen – and Hulkenberg said the apparent performance differences between himself and his teammate is much smaller than it may appear to external observers.

“Yeah, I think for sure,” Hulkenberg told media, including PlanetF1.com, over the British Grand Prix weekend when asked if he believes Magnussen still has a chance.

“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.”

Magnussen himself has confirmed he’s looking at options outside of Formula 1 as the driver market has stalled out waiting for decisions to be made by key players, such as Carlos Sainz, which is keeping several teams in limbo.

On his discussions with team boss Komatsu, Magnussen said he appreciated the “open” nature of their conversation with the Haas boss admitting they were “talking to other drivers as well.”

“I talked to him about my own potential future with the team and what I value the most is that he is very open, very honest,” Magnussen told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets in Austria. “I feel like I can trust him.

“He’s not hiding the fact that he’s talking to other drivers as well. He’s being open about that and I appreciate that a lot more because I’ve had team bosses in the past who weren’t honest, who were telling me BS and I don’t appreciate that.

“I think it’s part of the game. I’m not surprised he’s talking to other drivers. He wouldn’t be doing his job if he wasn’t so I appreciate the openness.”

More on the latest F1 2025 news

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👉 F1 driver contracts: What is the contract status of every driver on the 2024 grid?

Nico Hulkenberg’s advice for Oliver Bearman as rookie enters F1

Oliver Bearman’s arrival into F1 has been confirmed during a year in which the Ferrari junior has dovetailed FP1 appearances with Haas alongside his Formula 2 campaign – a season of sporadic form has him 13th in the standings, with a solitary victory coming in the sprint race at the Red Bull Ring.

But his stellar F1 debut in Saudi Arabia showed Bearman could deliver under pressure, and Hulkenberg’s advice to his replacement is simple.

“Congratulations, obviously first of all, to him and his team,” he said.

“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.”

Hulkenberg believes jumping in and out of F1 and F2 machinery has clouded Bearman’s abilities, and said he’ll be watching to see how the young British driver handles being in the big leagues next year.

“This year, he’s in a bit of a tricky position this year with doing F2 and especially the weekends when he does the F1 when he runs from F2 to F1, and he runs back to F2, I think it is quite challenging,” he said.

“I can only imagine how difficult and disturbing that must be. I think that’s causing him some trouble to find rhythm, to find consistency.

“Obviously, his outing in Jeddah really put him on the map and on the radar where he did a solid job. So, yeah, I see potential, but I also know that the air is thin here, so it will be interesting to see how he’s gonna get on here next year.”

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