Haas driver Kevin Magnussen hasn’t had the best of starts this season. The Danish driver has only scored one point from the first nine rounds.
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This point has been worsened when put up against his teammate Nico Hülkenberg who has scored seven. The differences between these two drivers aren’t only in points scored.
Hulkenberg can drive, knowing he has secured a contract with Sauber for 2025. Magnussen is out of contract, and with a recent list of bad performances, his future looks uncertain.
Magnussen believes his time in the Haas seat hasn’t been made easy by others around him.
He said, “I think it’s been an even more frustrating year this one because the pace has been there and, you know, I have been personally much stronger with the car.
“You know, I had a tough time last year with last year’s car, especially in qualifying and this year it seems easier and yet still, it hasn’t really gone my way with many times with traffic on the last lap in the second round of Q1 or Q2 or whatever.”
“It’s been a problem and just managing out laps and timing and stuff like that. And then when we’ve had a good race, you know, safety car, virtual safety car. Other people got an advantage, and it’s just one of those seasons where it just seems like a headwind all the time.”
This season’s driver market is wide open. Multiple drivers are racing without knowledge of if they will be driving again next year. Ollie Bearman has remained a target for Haas and Esteban Ocon is up there now following his Alpine exit.
If the Dane does get dropped from Formula 1, this won’t be his first time. Magnussen felt the pain of being dropped after his first full season of F1 with McLaren.
Now, with a bucket load of experience and a much more mature head, Magnussen feels more relaxed about the situation.
“The most important thing in tough times is to actually just keep positive and keep calm,” he explained.
“I think in the past, certainly when I was younger, I would maybe get more stressed about things, and you feel the pressure more.”
“Now, you know, I can put that aside a little better and just get in the car and drive to my best ability.”
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Feature Image Credit: MoneyGram Haas F1 Team