Why Magnussen said 'yes' to Haas: 'Knew they have potential'

Kevin Magnussen is back in Formula 1 and only too happy about it. His choice to take up Guenther Steiner's offer has not done him any favours, as Haas' VF-22 is proving to be a competitive car this year.

At the end of 2020, Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were pushed aside by Haas. Not because they were not fast enough (so Magnussen confirms). However, Haas wanted to do things differently with young drivers who simply put could also bring a bag of money with them. Mick Schumacher and all the way Nikita Mazepin fit that bill.

The return of Magnussen

In early 2022, however, Mazepin was expelled from the team and the American team had to look for a new driver. Steiner immediately knew who he wanted, but at the Beyond the Grid F1 Podcast Dane let it be known that he did not for a moment consider a return. Because of the different path Haas had taken, Magnussen had not expected a return to his old team.

Still, Steiner's name appeared on his phone and Magnussen naturally knew what it would be about. Despite the fact that Magnussen preferred not to race at the back, he immediately said 'yes' to his former and now current team boss. Indeed, Magnussen got a good feeling from the conversation with Steiner.

Confidence in Haas

"He did kind of give me some indications of how much work and effort had gone into the car, he didn’t say that it would be this good. I think that they made a big effort, that they sacrificed, at least last year, fully, so that they could focus on this year's car and even the year before. I know what the team can do when they do it right. I know in the past, what we were seeing in 2018, the car was superb, 2019 it was also kind of good," said the 29-year-old driver.

Magnussen knew the team had potential, but only really found out how good the car was during the first race. ''When you drive a Formula 1 car in Winter testing, you can’t compare lap times with other teams. I had a feeling it would be kind of good,'' concludes the Dane who secured a fifth place on his return and also managed to score two points in Saudi Arabia.