This is how Hulkenberg made up with Magnussen: 'I said the same to him'

After a three-year hiatus (barring the occasional fill-in), Nico Hulkenberg returns to the Formula 1 grid. Next year, he will be Kevin Magnussen's teammate at Haas, with whom he had a famous altercation years ago. That has now all been ironed out.

Hulkenberg made two more appearances this year when he had to fill in for the ailing Sebastian Vettel in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. At the drivers' photo in Bahrain, he ran into Magnussen and tells how the two broke the ice there after the bond between them had cooled sharply during the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix.

During that race, Magnussen pushed Hulkenberg off the track, after which the latter went to seek redress in front of all the media present. That could count on the vicious "suck my balls, honey" from Magnussen's side, words that F1 viewers worldwide have never forgotten since. In Bahrain, Hulkenberg thought it was time to make amends.

"At the driver's photo in Bahrain, I went up to him and shook his hand with his words from 2017. He found that quite amusing. That broke the ice," the German explained in conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport. "Before the race in Jeddah, we met at the airport and talked a bit. Since then, it's all been good. Today we both laugh about the story from back then. I don't have any concerns that this could cause problems," said the future Haas driver.