F1 News: Kevin Magnussen Realistic Ahead Of 2024 Season – “Clearly A Lot Of Work To Do”

In the midst of pre-season testing in Bahrain, Kevin Magnussen maintains a grounded perspective, recognizing the challenges ahead despite a positive start for Haas.

Key Takeaways:

• Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg completed a total of 148 laps in the first day of Bahrain pre-season testing, yet found themselves at the bottom of the timing sheets.
• Magnussen highlighted the team’s focus on long runs and addressing last year’s tyre issues, expressing optimism but acknowledging the need for further improvements.
• Team principal Ayao Komatsu viewed the day as a solid start to testing, with the team achieving their set goals but recognizing areas for operational enhancements.

Haas F1 Team approached the Bahrain pre-season testing with a blend of optimism and pragmatism as they aimed to make strides forward. Despite a constructive session, both Magnussen and Hulkenberg struggled to match the pace of the frontrunners, indicating a tough road ahead for the team.

Reflecting on the day’s activities, Magnussen shared his thoughts, expressing a mix of contentment and awareness of the challenges looming ahead. He emphasized the team’s focus on resolving previous tire issues while acknowledging the significant work required:

“I feel very good. Physically, it was a good morning as it’s always fun getting back into the car after the winter. I think we had a pretty positive morning, we just focused on long runs and we’re really trying to address the issues that we had last year with the tires. That’s going to be our main focus and we’re happy about what we saw this morning, but there’s clearly a lot of work to do but everyone’s fired up to investigate and learn about this new car.”

Hulkenberg echoed Magnussen’s sentiments, highlighting the team’s concentration on high-fuel, long runs to understand the VF-24 better and improve upon previous weaknesses. Despite a productive afternoon, he emphasized the ongoing effort needed to refine their approach:

“Our afternoon was mainly about high-fuel, long runs and the objective was to learn about the car and try some things with the tires. We know it was our weakness last year so that’s really been the focus today. It was all good and positive, there were no issues on the technical side and with 82 laps on the board, everything was achieved.”

Komatsu, providing a broader overview, acknowledged the positives of the day while also recognizing areas for refinement in the team’s operations:

“For our first day of pre-season testing, overall, I think it was a pretty decent day – it wasn’t perfect, but it was a really decent start. We have a few operational things to sharpen up as well, just so we run slightly better, but with 148 laps recorded, we now have plenty to build on [for the rest of testing].”

As Haas continues its pre-season preparations, it’s evident that while there are challenges to overcome, there’s also a determination to address weaknesses and move forward with optimism towards the upcoming F1 season.