Kevin Magnussen believes that 2022 has been a good year for Haas ‘ Formula 1 ‘restart’ , as the team is looking to return to the midfield next season and drop the bottom of the standings.
After ending 2021 without picking up any points when it chose not to develop the car, Haas immediately enjoyed a bounce back last year under the new technical regulations and saw Magnussen finish fifth in the season opener in Bahrain and establish himself. as ‘reference man’ at the beginning of the year.
Although Haas’ ‘gas’ ended up dissipating, causing the team to drop to eighth place in the constructors’ championship, the Dane achieved a shocking result when he scored the first pole for the North American team in Brazil. This marked a successful return to Haas for Kevin, who had been released at the end of 2020 after Nikita Mazepin’s contract was terminated following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by pmrsc.com if he noticed any difference with the Haas after leaving and returning, the driver replied: “It still feels like the same team, but it’s a very dynamic thing. Many different things happened within the team. I think it was a very good year to restart Haas. We returned to the dispute in the middle of the grid, we conquered our pole position.”
“I hope this can give the whole team a huge boost and really seal in the belief that we are back in the game and that we have a bright future.”
And in 2023 it will be possible to see more changes at Haas, with veteran Nico Hulkenberg joining as Magnussen’s new teammate, replacing Mick Schumacher, who was released after two seasons in the squad. That will give the team one of the most experienced line-ups on the grid, a far cry from its 2021 rookie duo.
The team has also secured a new financial boost with its new master sponsor, MoneyGram, which will allow it to operate close to its budget cap. Kevin Magnussen felt that there were “some good things happening for us” at Haas, but that it would take time for the team to settle down after a few years of being on a ‘rollercoaster’.
“The team has had a tough few years when some people left and we hired new people,” said Magnussen. “That group needs to establish itself, because when you get new people, even if they are super talented and very capable, it still needs time to stabilize. I think that was part of the process this year as well.”
“It will happen. It has already happened to some extent and will happen through the winter. But yes, we brought an update [in 2022]. So hopefully there will be more attempts from our aero sector to put performance in the car and then we will grow in different areas, everything we do here on track, strategy, operational, pitstops. Many things can be improved.”
