Tag: Kevin Magnussen

Magnussen playing the long game at Haas

Kevin Magnussen believes Haas is right to have low expectations for the start of the 2024 season, but is encouraged by its potential to improve through development as the year goes on. Haas ended last year bottom of the constructors’ championship …

Kevin Magnussen believes Haas is right to have low expectations for the start of the 2024 season, but is encouraged by its potential to improve through development as the year goes on.

Haas ended last year bottom of the constructors’ championship and the result played a key role in Guenther Steiner being replaced as team principal by Ayao Komatsu. The Japanese engineer has already stated he expects to be at the back of the grid in Bahrain but is targeting a stronger development plan than in the past – something Magnussen is on board with.

“I think expectations are being managed quite well this year,” Magnussen said. “I think some years there has been some unrealistic optimism going into seasons and I’ve been affected by it as well.

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“Certainly, Ayao is very clear that he doesn’t think we’ve moved out of last year’s position yet, but he’s clear in that he sees the development trajectory looking a lot stronger, so he’s actually optimistic that we can move forward through this year.

“The entire field is so close together and I think last year we completely ran into a wall in terms of development. We couldn’t really break that barrier until we shifted the concept, and this year is looking a lot better. Expectations are low to begin with but high for the season as a whole.”

Magnussen admits there’s a chance Haas doesn’t make any progress at the first race compared to where it ended 2023, as the team gets to grips with a new concept that was initially introduced last year.

“The update was more of an experiment last year.” he said. “It’s hard to call it an update or upgrade because it wasn’t really upwards, it was just sideways, but it was a very good experiment in terms of committing to the concept of car that we have this year. I think we wanted to see the potential and characteristics on track with this concept of car and this year is in that direction.

“I hope we can take a step forward. We committed to this year’s car quite late in development, so we’ve had quite a short time to develop, and it’s actually been going quite well. Although I don’t think we can guarantee that it’s a step forward straightaway in Bahrain at the first race, I think the development looks more interesting, at least.”

Haas to split car specifications between drivers in Las Vegas

Haas will run two different specifications of car for Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen at the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend, based on driver preference. Guenther Steiner’s team introduced a major update at the United States Grand Prix last …

Haas will run two different specifications of car for Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen at the Las Vegas Grand Prix this weekend, based on driver preference.

Guenther Steiner’s team introduced a major update at the United States Grand Prix last month but still found itself struggling with many of the race pace issues that had impacted its season. While the upgrade has had an impact, Hulkenberg prefers the previous specification of car so Steiner says the team is allowing the drivers to choose the parts they want to run in Las Vegas.

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“The main drive behind this was Nico feels that for him the old spec suits him better, and Kevin is the opposite,” Steiner said. “We’ve opted to give them what they want, we have two races to go and nothing to lose, so we’ve tried to do what we can.

“We could discuss gathering data, but we’ve got enough data, it’s a decision based on what each driver likes more than anything else. It puts them in a comfortable position so that they’re as happy as they can be with the car they get.”

Away from the sporting challenge of the new race in Las Vegas, Steiner is impressed simply by the attempt to host a grand prix on the Strip, and expand Formula 1’s footprint in the United States.

“I think we all have an expectation, but we know what Las Vegas is about. It’s hard to imagine exactly what it will be like, but it will be a very cool event and something completely different from anything done before in Formula 1.

“To put such effort into racing in a city like Las Vegas is challenging, to say the least, and to make it happen a few years ago was impossible to think about, let alone say. Let’s see what it will be like, but it will surely set a standard for a lot of things in the sport going forward.

“I think it’s fantastic to have three races in the States, especially as the American team. Five or 10 years ago, who’d have thought that we’d have more than one race in the US, now we’ve got three and they’re all very different events – as they would be if we were racing in different continents, not just country. I think it’s good for Formula 1 and the American fans who are coming more to watch and support.

“The standout point for me is the difference between each race. You go to Austin, which is a more ‘traditional’ race with lots of hardcore fans, and then you go to Miami where it’s party central, and then let’s see what Vegas brings. We know it won’t ever be sleeping and we’re racing at night, which is completely different again.”

‘I don’t think I’ve ever fought so hard for a point’ – Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen believes his tenth place at the Singapore Grand Prix was the hardest-fought point of his career so far, but isn’t expecting a repeat any time soon. Haas hadn’t scored on a Sunday since the Miami Grand Prix, but had a golden …

Kevin Magnussen believes his tenth place at the Singapore Grand Prix was the hardest-fought point of his career so far, but isn’t expecting a repeat any time soon.

Haas hadn’t scored on a Sunday since the Miami Grand Prix, but had a golden opportunity with Magnussen starting sixth and Nico Hulkenberg ninth in Singapore. As has often been the case, the race pace didn’t match the qualifying performance but Magnussen recovered from losing multiple positions at one stage to climb back into 11th and then inherit 10th when George Russell crashed on the final lap.

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“We’re pleased with that,” Magnussen said. “It was a hard fight and I don’t think I’ve ever fought so hard for a point, but I really, really wanted it and after a good qualifying it would have been so disappointing not to get anything out of it.

“It looked tough at one point, and once I had that off in Turn 1 and 2 I thought it was game over, my tires were just done.

“So we pitted for a soft and it worked really well. The pace was good, I made up a few positions and then a few people crashed and I got a point, so I’m glad I worked so hard for that.

“I just tried as hard as I could. I wanted to make sure there was nothing left out there and it paid off.”

Magnussen was particularly proud of the way Haas took advantage of the chance to score on Sunday, although he believes the track characteristics at Suzuka this coming weekend will prove painful for the team.

“We got an opportunity and we took it – we were ready to capitalize. That’s what I always say. We go into these races and we know the race pace isn’t going to be that good and tire degradation is not on our side and we’ve just got to be ready to take any opportunity there is and we did that.

“I think (Singapore) with the sharp 90-degree corners, you don’t have to combine so long. The entry phase is very sharp, so that phase is a lot shorter on this track for most of the lap, so that means we’re not as exposed in the weakness we have in the car.

“Suzuka is the opposite to that, very, very long entries and exits, it’s not really what we like so much!”

Haas F1 re-signs Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg

The American F1 team is looking to continue fielding an experienced driver pair for 2024.

Haas has its driver lineup for the 2024 season locked in.

There will be no changes for the American team in 2024, as the team announced Thursday it had re-signed current drivers [autotag]Nico Hulkenberg[/autotag] and [autotag]Kevin Magnussen[/autotag] to the team for the next season. As of now, it seems that the two have been renewed for just the 2024 season.

Hulkenberg and Magnussen both have experience in Formula 1, having both started a combined 346 races. As it stands, Hulkenberg sits in 14th place with nine points in the World Drivers Championship while Magnussen is in 18th with two points. Hulkenberg has Haas’ best result of the year, a 7th-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix.

Team principal Guenther Steiner told Formula1.com that the team currently has an “extremely solid driver pairing” and that the experience that the two bring to the team is invaluable. Here’s what he had to say about renewing the two drivers:

“Kevin is obviously a very well-known quantity to us, and I’m delighted he’ll return for what will be his seventh season in Haas colours. With 113 starts for our team alone, we know where his strengths lie and his knowledge and experience of our organisation pairs very well with that too.

On the other side of the garage, Nico’s simply slotted in without fuss or fanfare and proved himself to be a valuable member of the team. He’s approaching 200 starts in Formula 1 and we’re very happy to be the beneficiary of that experience behind the wheel.”

The two will attempt to take Haas to greater heights in 2024. The team is currently eighth in the constructors championship with 11 points, so both Hulkenberg and Magnussen will hope they signed up for a more competitive car in the future.

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Magnussen never felt Haas future was in doubt

Kevin Magnussen says he didn’t fear for his future at Haas thanks to team principal Guenther Steiner’s honesty, following the announcement of a contract extension at the Dutch Grand Prix. Haas announced Thursday it has opted to retain its current …

Kevin Magnussen says he didn’t fear for his future at Haas thanks to team principal Guenther Steiner’s honesty, following the announcement of a contract extension at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Haas announced Thursday it has opted to retain its current lineup of Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg into 2024, activating clauses in both drivers’ contracts to secure their services for a further season. Magnussen has been outqualified by Hulkenberg on nine occasions in 12 races so far this year, but despite only having two points compared to his team-mate’s nine, he was always confident he’d be staying.

“Not really (concerned), I know what I’m dealing with,” Magnussen said. “I’m old enough now and experienced enough to know where I’m at and what’s going on. The risks involved in this I’m aware of, and I’ve been through most of it at least. So with experience comes an ability to stay calm and you don’t get affected so much by different things that maybe in the past used to affect me more.

“I always want to do a better job no matter what. There’s always stuff that I feel I can improve, and this year I don’t think I as a driver am the sole reason we haven’t scored as many points as we wanted to. I think we all realize the car isn’t as strong as we’d hoped it would be, and I think a big strength in the team is that we’ve got two mature and patient drivers who are not patient enough to wait around for years to get a good car.

“We want to improve and we want to drive the team forward but we’re also experienced enough to be able to stay calm and stay positive and stay constructive in the critique that we’re giving to the team.”

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Magnussen says Steiner’s approach helped him feel secure about this future, given how blunt the Haas team principal can be.

“Guenther’s always very open, very honest, you feel some sort of security with him always … Honesty is a security, even though he tells you that you’re a d•••head and that you can eff off… So I think that’s something I appreciate a lot — not being called a d•••head of course! Just the fact that he’s so honest and you can trust him, and I find that a very good quality in him.

“Guenther’s been quite open about his thinking. But of course I know Formula 1, nothing’s certain until you have it on paper — and not even then sometimes! It’s nice, basically before the summer break I knew, so it’s not a surprise.”

Steiner says he didn’t approach any other drivers, because he feels Haas could not secure a better lineup than it currently has.

“It was pretty straightforward — for a few months I was saying I think we’re pretty good, that’s what I meant,” Steiner said. “Nico, at the start of the year we didn’t do a two-year contract because we didn’t know how he comes back. But he came back very strong.

“Kevin, he would tell you himself he’s not happy with his performance in qualifying at the moment, but he’s just struggled with the consistency of the car. He doesn’t know what it will do corner to corner.

“I think we have got the best driver pairing we can get at the moment with our financials and with our attractiveness of car. I never actually spoke to anyone else.”

Haas retains Hulkenberg and Magnussen for 2024

Haas has announced an unchanged driver lineup of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen for the 2024 season. Hulkenberg has impressed in his first year back in Formula 1 since 2019, scoring nine points and making six appearances in Q3 from the first 12 …

Haas has announced an unchanged driver lineup of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen for the 2024 season.

Hulkenberg has impressed in his first year back in Formula 1 since 2019, scoring nine points and making six appearances in Q3 from the first 12 races. Magnussen returned to the team in 2022 after himself spending a year away from F1, and with an experienced lineup Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has confirmed continuity heading into next season.

“I think it’s safe to say that we’ve had an extremely solid driver pairing this season in Formula 1 and ultimately there was no reason to look to change that moving forward,” Steiner said. “Kevin is obviously a very well-known quantity to us, and I’m delighted he’ll return for what will be his seventh season in Haas colors. With 113 starts for our team alone, we know where his strengths lie and his knowledge and experience of our organization pairs very well with that too.

“On the other side of the garage, Nico’s simply slotted in without fuss or fanfare and proved himself to be a valuable member of the team. He’s approaching 200 starts in Formula 1 and we’re very happy to be the beneficiary of that experience behind the wheel.”

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Magnussen has only added two points to the Haas total so far this season as the team has struggled in race trim, but Steiner says he’s confident he has the right drivers to help the team improve the car and deliver top-10 results regularly once the machinery allows.

“We’ve had to tackle our issues this season with regards to the VF-23, we don’t hide from that, but we’ve been extremely fortunate to have had two drivers whose feedback is invaluable in assisting our engineering objectives.

“Kevin and Nico jelled well right from the get go and together they’ve both scored points, and in particular, Nico has excelled in qualifying — getting into Q3 on six occasions. Having not raced in Formula 1 full-time since 2019 that shows you just how professional he is and how he’s looked after himself physically.

“Of note is also just how much energy both drivers bring to the table — they’ve been fantastic not only in terms of their engagement within the team, but critically, in our partner activations and fan-facing opportunities. Kevin and Nico are clearly enjoying their time in the sport, they both have mature heads on their shoulders, and they fundamentally understand what it is we’re asking of them. In turn, now it’s down to us as a team to look ahead to 2024 and ensure we have a car that’s capable of scoring points consistently.”

The confirmation of the two Haas drivers leaves Lewis Hamilton, Zhou Guanyu and Logan Sargeant — along with the AlphaTauri pair of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo — without confirmed extensions for 2024.

Qualifying gap to Hulkenberg putting pressure on Magnussen – Steiner

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner suggests the current driver pairing is one he wants to continue with, but expects to see a reaction from Kevin Magnussen to this year’s results. Magnussen was one of the standout drivers of 2022 when paired with …

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner suggests the current driver pairing is one he wants to continue with, but expects to see a reaction from Kevin Magnussen to this year’s results.

Magnussen was one of the standout drivers of 2022 when paired with Mick Schumacher, scoring 25 points, including a stunning fifth place in Bahrain on his return to Formula 1. However, this year Nico Hulkenberg has picked up the majority of the points for Haas, with Steiner surprised at how quickly the German got up to speed in his own comeback season.

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“What we wanted was (Hulkenberg’s) experience to take the team forward, and I think we got what we wanted,” Steiner told SiriusXM. “Firstly, his results are – in my opinion – better than expected, how quickly he was on a good pace.

“And secondly how well he works with the team. He’s really pushing everybody in a positive way, not only saying ‘this doesn’t work’ and then goes off to Monte Carlo.

“No, he’s engaged, he tries to help, he’s giving good feedback on the car, and it’s also good fun to work with him.”

With Hulkenberg outqualifying Magnussen nine to three so far this season, Steiner admits the Dane isn’t happy with the deficit but says he is “pretty happy where we are with the drivers” as it stands.

“It puts on pressure but I think at the moment, we need to look at the numbers and most of the time in qualifying Kevin was behind him, and not by half a tenth, by more than two or three tenths, which obviously puts Kevin under a bit of pressure. But I think the biggest pressure is coming from himself because when you’re a driver and you get beaten by your teammate that’s never nice to be.

“So I think we need to see how he can get out of this to catch up to Nico again, because he should be able to do it and already having a teammate like Nico should help to get there.”

Steiner said the relative gap is one of the reasons he was so keen to have two experienced drivers in the car this season after having replaced Schumacher with Hulkenberg over the winter.

“Absolutely, it’s one of those things that if you have a known quantity then it’s easier to judge also where we are with the car. If you think about Kevin in the form he was at the beginning of the year, and then having a rookie beside him, you don’t really know where you are at,” he said.

“Kevin just doesn’t like how this car drives, but it doesn’t make it a bad car – I mean it’s not a great car because we have the race issue, but in qualifying it’s not a bad car – he needs to get the best out of it.

“But if you have two drivers and one doesn’t like the car and one is a rookie, it’s very difficult to get out of that hole. But now having Nico we know there’s something in the car, we just need to get it all the time.”

Haas sticking with 2023 development plan

Haas will continue developing its 2023 car to try and find solutions for its current weaknesses, with team principal Guenther Steiner admitting he’s unsure when to focus solely on 2024. A strong start to the season saw Haas score points in three of …

Haas will continue developing its 2023 car to try and find solutions for its current weaknesses, with team principal Guenther Steiner admitting he’s unsure when to focus solely on 2024.

A strong start to the season saw Haas score points in three of the first five races but it hasn’t added to that tally on a Sunday since then, with regular Q3 appearances — and one top-six in a sprint — being followed by challenging race pace. Steiner says some new parts brought to the Hungarian Grand Prix helped move the team forward slightly but that it still has issues it needs to address.

“In Hungary, the result looked worse than it was because we weren’t far from our competitors, but we were still behind,” Steiner said. “It’s not fantastic but it’s the right direction.

“To say whether it was the updates that gave performance or whether it was track specific, it’s very difficult to judge because of how mixed up the teams are getting and how close it is — it’s hard to come to a definitive conclusion on whether an update works. Our upgrade was small as we all know but what it promised to do, it did; it just wasn’t enough.

“Upgrades for this season will also be implemented on next year’s car and that’s why we’ve decided to continue with this year’s car development to really understand our problems and where we need to put effort into making the car better for next year. Right now, we’re developing both cars in parallel, and we don’t really know yet when we switch over only to 2024.”

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Kevin Magnussen finished 17th in Hungary, matching his best result since picking up a point in 10th place in Miami. While he says there are reasons to be optimistic for the future, the Dane expects some more tough races ahead.

“I think we’re getting an understanding,” Magnussen said. One thing is understanding your problem and the next is to find the solution to that problem. I think in general we need some more performance — there are some specific areas that we definitely are struggling in. Hot tires is one of them, but there’s several things that can influence that.

“So I think as a team we need to make a big step forward. I know that there’s some stuff in the pipeline that we can get excited about later on in the year, hopefully, but for now it’s just about being patient and doing every race weekend like you think you have a chance and try to grab any opportunity that you might get.”

Magnussen escapes penalty to keep ‘lucky’ P4

Kevin Magnussen says his fourth place on the grid for the Miami Grand Prix is lucky after escaping a penalty for an incident with Lewis Hamilton. In Q1, Hamilton touched the wall at Turn 17 as he avoided running into the back of Magnussen, who was …

Kevin Magnussen says his fourth place on the grid for the Miami Grand Prix is lucky after escaping a penalty for an incident with Lewis Hamilton.

In Q1, Hamilton touched the wall at Turn 17 as he avoided running into the back of Magnussen, who was going very slowly before starting a flying lap. Both drivers agreed the closing speed had caught Hamilton out but that as he was on an in-lap he wasn’t impeded, and Magnussen had a car ahead that led to him going slowly, so no further action was taken.

That confirmed fourth on the grid for Magnussen, who had put in a good first Q3 lap and then seen mistakes from Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc leave them behind him, as a Leclerc crash ended the session early.

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“Me and Lewis were both on a slow lap,” Magnussen said. “I was starting another lap. He was pitting, so I don’t quite understand what happened. I think he was a little bit under pressure timewise to get in to start this second run. So he was rushing in and I was starting a new lap.

“It feels good. You know, it’s an important race for us. Home race for the team, all our big sponsors are here this weekend. And this is a race we hope goes well – it’s one of those.

“I got a bit lucky. But I don’t feel bad about it.”

Magnussen also believes the new floor that Haas brought to Miami has helped the team be more competitive through all sessions.

“I think this weekend, we’ve just been strong consistently. Not only in terms of putting in lap times — if you look at the results from each session, it’s so good. But just the feeling was there from the very beginning. We put the car on track and it worked. We haven’t really touched it — a little bit tweaked — and I think that’s been really good. And then we brought an upgrade that worked, so yeah, happy P4 tomorrow, and hopefully we can finish it off and score some points.

“We put an upgrade on the car. We’ve got a new floor this weekend. That seems to have really helped. You know, track-specific. I think our car works a little bit better here and we got a bit lucky.”

The Dane would also welcome some wet weather to try and hold onto a big result on Sunday, with the likes of Leclerc, Verstappen, Hamilton and George Russell starting behind him.

“That could spice things up — I think I’d welcome that,” he said of the chance of inclement weather. “Of course, it’s always a little less wanted when you’re starting up front, but still, it’s fun if it rains. I don’t think we’re fourth fastest but it’s nice to finish (qualifying) a little further up than you have the speed (for), so you can just nicely fall back into your natural position and finish it off like that.”

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Magnussen feels Miami has taken F1 events ‘to the next level’

Kevin Magnussen believes the Miami Grand Prix is a race weekend that has taken Formula 1 events “to the next level” in terms of coverage and interest. Miami joined the F1 calendar last year on a 10-year deal, and has since been joined by Las Vegas …

Kevin Magnussen believes the Miami Grand Prix is a race weekend that has taken Formula 1 events “to the next level” in terms of coverage and interest.

Miami joined the F1 calendar last year on a 10-year deal, and has since been joined by Las Vegas as the sport increases its footprint in the United States. Both races have placed a big focus on activation and the fan experience, and Magnussen says it’s making a noticeable difference to the weekend’s demands from a driver’s point of view.

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“The Miami Grand Prix is one of these new races in the U.S. that kind of feels like a new type of Formula 1 event, where it’s taken to the next level,” Magnussen says. “It’s very unique, it’s very hyped, there’s a lot of new things about it and I also think the track is fun.

“There’s more activities during a U.S. Grand Prix weekend, being the only American team, plus having an American title sponsor. It’s also one of the races where we really want to do well in front of our home crowd, and also in front of many of our sponsor’s home fans as well.

“It’s the closest I get to a home race in a way, because there isn’t a Danish Grand Prix and the closest I get is the team’s home race and I count that as ours. Luckily we have three of those and hopefully we can do well at all three.”

Magnussen’s teammate Nico Hulkenberg didn’t race in Miami last season as he was without a race seat but the German says he got a taste for what to expect

“I will only explore the track on Friday in a Formula 1 car, but I did do hot laps around here in a road car and it seemed fun,” Hulkenberg said. “I’m looking forward to exploring it and learn the track as it’s quite technical and challenging for sure. The event was mega hyped, successful and I’ve never seen such a big paddock and grid like Miami during my time in Formula 1, so that looked pretty entertaining.”

The Haas drivers will be taking on a busy marketing and activation schedule around the race, with team principal Guenther Steiner saying it feels like an established event already given the focus on it for the U.S.-owned team.

“It feels strange as Miami’s only had one year but it feels like it’s been there a long time,” Steiner said. “Everybody’s looking forward to it because everyone did a good job last year. When you look at these events, there’s always room for improvement but I’m very positive as it’s one of those events where it’s great for the teams to come back.

“It was a great event last year and it will be a great event this year. There’s a positive buzz to it because the fans are really waiting for these events to come around.”

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