Magnussen set to focus on 'training like hell': 'I couldn't move my neck'

Just over a month ago, Kevin Magnussen had no inkling that he would be on the starting grid of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix. In fact, he had left Formula 1 completely behind, he tells the In the Fast Lane-podcast.

After his forced departure in 2020, the Danish driver moved on with his life, assuming he would never make a return to Formula 1. Nothing turned out to be further from the truth, however: Haas' breakup with title sponsor Uralkali caused Nikita Mazepin to lose his seat, making Magnussen's return possible.

“I really had got to terms with the fact that I wasn’t going to be driving F1 anymore," says the Haas driver. Moreover, he had also lost the motivation a bit by driving in the rear of the field every time. He wanted to fight for something again and he made that wish come true in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, where he won a race and scored several podiums.

Now he's back in Formula 1 and a podium finish seems all but out of the question for the Dane, who finished well inside the top ten twice after his comeback. When he was asked to return to Haas he immediately said a resounding yes. "I immediately felt this huge emotion and excitement," Magnussen reveals. "I was like, 'I have to do this, I'm too excited.' I had all these thoughts that I wouldn't come back, but I'm too excited to say no."

Magnussen was an instant success in his first tests in Bahrain and followed that up with an excellent fifth place in the opening race. It was as if he had never left, but with one painful difference: "My neck was so stiff I couldn't move it without pain", he admits. The Dane's priority now is 'training like hell'.