Kevin Magnussen vs. Nico Hulkenberg 2023 F1 Drivers Championship Overview

The Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg driver pairing hopes to propel Haas up to more midfield battles this year. Both drivers are known for their fiercely competitive nature, which brings us to this interesting F1 Drivers’ Championship head-to-head below./p>

2023 Drivers’ Championship Season Head-To-Head Odds

Guenther, Nico and Kevin summarize this afternoon's #HungarianGP #HaasF1 https://t.co/uhoYIHvZZs

— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) July 23, 2023

Kevin Magnussen

Haas breathed life into Kevin Magnussen’s career in 2022 after he left the team at the end of 2020. Kevin is the son of 1990s Formula 1 driver Jan Magnussen, which means he has racing in his roots. He started karting in Denmark before stepping up to single-seater racing in 2008, dominating and winning that year’s Danish Formula Ford Championship. The Danish driver then moved up to Formula Renault 2.0 in 2009 with Motopark Academy where he finished runner-up in the Northern European Cup and seventh in the Eurocup.

Magnussen was soon discovered by McLaren’s young driver program and eventually landed a drive in German Formula 3 with Motopark in 2010. He was elected to a promotion at McLaren in 2014 and made his debut race in Melbourne. Kevin qualified P4 on the grid and moved up to P3 after Lewis Hamilton encountered issues. Magnussen stayed there until the checkered flag, later promoted to second after Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification.

However, his 60 seconds of fame with McLaren eventually ended as the team struggled to fight for a midfield position that year. The Danish driver’s seat was in trouble since Fernando Alonso’s move to the team in 2015. He was demoted to a test driver role.

After watching for the sidelines for a good season, Kevin found a lifeline at Renault before finding solid ground at Haas in 2017. Despite a few turbulent moments with the American-owned constructor found his way back to the team in 2022 after missing out on Formula 1 racing for a year.

The 30-year-old did well in his return to Formula 1 and scored points for his team multiple times. However, 2023 looks to be a difficult season for him as he finds himself in 18th place with two World Championship points. Kevin Magnussen suffered three DNFs in 11 races this year. He did record a P4 best start this season but can only manage P10 as a best finish.

Nico Hulkenberg

Seasoned driver Nico Hulkenberg returned to the grid and replaced Mick Schumacher to race alongside Kevin Magnussen. With a long portfolio of accolades, Hulk’s F1 career sees highs and lows. Having won championships in multiple motorsport divisions, the German is yet to find his first podium finish in Formula 1.

The German moved up to the top-tier racing circle in 2010 with Williams, driving with Rubens Barrichello. He made steady progress in his rookie year and even scored a best finish of P6 at the Hungarian Grand Prix, notably documenting his first pole position in Brazil. However, after the season finale in Abu Dhabi in 2011, team principal Frank Williams replaced Hulkenberg with Pastor Maldonado.

Like his current teammate Kevin Magnussen, Nico spent a year on the sidelines before returning to the grid. He was promoted to a race seat with Force India in 2012 after taking a reserve driver role for the constructor a year before. The German impressed on his comeback season, outsourcing teammate Di Resta by 64 points to 46 finishing a career-best fourth at the Belgian Grand Prix.

His journey continued with a move to Sauber in 2013. He once again finished ahead of his teammate, outsourcing Esteban Gutierrez by 51 points to six. A year later, Hulkenberg signed a contract to return to Force India for three more seasons. Since the stint, he announced his multiyear deal with the Renault Sport Formula One team from 2017 to 2019. Once again, he recorded positive performances along the way but failed to slice to the top three.

Nico went through a dry spell in 2020, 2021, and 2022. His only appearances included a substitute drive for Checo at the British Grand Prix in 2020 and an appearance at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in 2022.

Multiple substitutions and reserve driver duties later, Hulk found a full-time drive with Haas in 2023. He squeezes every ounce of potential from the VF-23, scoring a P7-best result and a points finish in 11 appearances. We’ve seen the 35-year-old join the Q3 six times and rank 14th in the 2023 Driver Standings with nine World Championship points.

Where to Bet on F1 with Crypto

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