“Suck my b****” - how Haas drivers repaired damaged relationship

Hulkenberg will replace Mick Schumacher in the F1 2023 driver line-up alongside Magnussen in a new-look duo for Haas.

But the pair must make amends after a 2017 incident where Magnussen said “suck my b****, mate” to Hulkenberg after a clash in Hungary.

“I expect to have a good relationship,” Hulkenberg said about his new teammate.

“We have, I think, cleared that incident and we’ve broken the ice at the beginning of this year.

“I said hello to him with his exact same words from 2017. He felt that was quite funny and amusing.

“I have absolutely no worries working and racing alongside him. I think we are both grown-up adults, we respect each other and we’ll race for the team, so no problems whatsoever.”

Hulkenberg offered insight into how he was asked to return to F1 and replace Schumacher.

“I think the last month it got more and more concrete and serious and I was getting more optimistic, confident that we can agree a deal.

“It was good for me to have time away to digest, to reflect on some things, change your perspective a little bit too.

“Sometimes it’s difficult when you have to watch when you’re on the sidelines. This year, watching got a little harder, especially when you analyse and you see and you think you can do better in places, so I started the return project.”