Hulkenberg was one of several cars to stay out under an early safety car in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, a strategy which backfired for McLaren's Lando Norris and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton as a necessary second safety car never materialised.
Hulkenberg also needed to make a green flag pitstop, which would have normally dropped him out of points contention.
But behind him, Haas colleague Magnussen crucially passed the RB of Yuki Tsunoda to create a buffer between Hulkenberg and the chasing pack.
Magnussen then lowered his pace to allow the German to pull a large enough gap to pit into without losing 10th.
The plan worked to perfection, with Hulkenberg emerging from the pits two seconds ahead of the Dane and his frustrated chasers.
The point was described as "gold dust" by team principal Ayao Komatsu as Haas and its immediate rivals are lagging behind 2024's top five teams.
Source: Autosport