Nico Hulkenberg has revealed he was unaware Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen had slowed his pace to help him land a point in Formula 1’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Haas elected to split strategies when the Safety Car intervened on the seventh lap for Lance Stroll’s crash at Turn 22, pitting Magnussen while leaving Hulkenberg out.
Magnussen earned a 10-second penalty when he clashed with Alex Albon at Turn 4 and then landed a further time drop when he overtook Yuki Tsunoda’s RB off-track.
However, the Dane had secured track position over a gaggle of cars and with his prospects of scoring diminished, Haas instructed Magnussen to reduce his lap times.
Magnussen was circulating up to two seconds slower than he later managed, enabling his team-mate to build a buffer that saw him emerge in a net 10th when he pitted.
Asked whether he was informed that Magnussen had helped him during the race, Hulkenberg said: “No, no, I didn’t.
“I was told that the gap opened up, but I wasn’t aware why. I just thought, ‘I am so good that I fly away from the pack!’
“For the most part I was by myself, just driving, pushing. There was no tyre saving going on, it was flat out, so quite physical. But I enjoyed it.”
With the top five teams from last season having appeared to extend their advantage over the rest, Haas’ sole point elevated the team up to sixth in the championship.
Hulkenberg praised Magnussen’s defensive driving and has promised that he will “return the favour” to his team-mate when the chance arises later in the campaign.
“One point, I’m obviously happy about that,” Hulkenberg said. “Great team effort, great team game by Kevin.
“I was told that he really helped my case by holding up the pack behind him, which obviously helped open up the window for me to take the point.
“A very good job from him on that side. And thank you, I’ll return the favour later in the season.”
The opening exchanges of the race saw Hulkenberg encounter Oliver Bearman, who was encountering his F1 debut with Ferrari in place of the unwell Carlos Sainz.
Hulkenberg, a veteran of 205 F1 starts, admitted that he attempted to resist the Briton from overtaking but conceded that Ferrari’s pace advantage was too strong.
“I think he did good. Already from FP3 he was pretty on it, attacking,” Hulkenberg replied when asked about Bearman’s impressive maiden appearance.
“I was trying to hold him off for a few laps and then once he overtook me too early there and I overtook him back, so just trying to get him to use his tyre a little bit.
“But that wasn’t enough, they have too much of a car advantage.”
