How Hulkenberg “broke the ice” with Magnussen after “suck my b****” beef

Infamously, the pair had an heated exchange following the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix, when Magnussen pushed Hulkenberg - who was driving for Renault at the time - off the track.

In the media pen, Magnussen told Hulkenberg: “suck my b****”.

Magnussen and Hulkenberg are now Haas’ teammate pairing for F1 2023.

Just under five years later, Hulkenberg explained how he spoke to Magnussen about it last year when stepping in for Sebastian Vettel at the 2022 Bahrain GP.

Speaking to the media on Thursday in Bahrain, Hulkenberg said: “We actually sort of broke the ice here 12 months ago when I stepped in for Seb.

“There’s this driver picture on the Sunday morning and we happened to be standing behind each other and I sort of thought ‘it’s time to break the ice’ and reached out with a hand and with a smile and put his words into his face.

“And that’s where our relationship actually started 12 months ago and ever since, you know, it’s actually been pretty good. We’ve been hanging out a bit over the winter in the UK, doing some marketing and media stuff and yeah, so far so good, I feel no tension or friction between us.

“He’s a dad too so we’re both in similar positions in our life, and looking forward to working alongside him.”

Hulkenberg makes his full-time return to F1 after three seasons away.

In that time, the German was Aston Martin’s (previously Racing Point) reserve driver, making several appearances.

Hulkenberg is confident of performing on his return as Haas look to build on their P8 finish in the championship last year.

"That feeling is going to grow better and stronger every race because testing was not huge,” he added.

"I think the midfield is very competitive and tight once again. We say it every year but it is actually always the case and small things can make a big impact, can be a difference.

"I believe we were somewhere in the midfield as well, it can be very track dependent on whether you are at the upper end or the lower end. It is our job to maximise what we have and score results."