Photo Credits: Haas F1 Team
Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen crossed the line under the lights in Abu Dhabi in the new-spec VF-23 with a P20 finish. With the 2023 F1 season now in the history books, the Danish racer told media post-race that he is “happy to close this year and move on to next one”.
Haas F1 Team concluded the 2023 season bottom of the Constructors’ Championship and have a lot of work to do in the off season. The American-owned team has been known throughout the year as a team which could produce a strong qualifying car but would fall away in the race. However, during qualifying with Kevin Magnussen behind the wheel of the new-spec VF-23 it appeared that they had gone backwards as opposed to forwards. This was evident when teammate Nico Hülkenberg qualified P8 – in the old car.
Speaking post-race to the media, Magnussen was disappointed by the performance of his car but was still eager to focus on positives rather than negatives. An attribute which will be very much needed within the team to maintain morale as they seek to climb from the bottom of the table in 2024.
“I think we’ve learned, you know, it was good to get some track information from this type of car and although it wasn’t better I think it was good that we ran the two cars next to each other for a couple of races.
“I would have liked maybe just one race for that and then go back to the old one but that logistically wasn’t possible. So, I guess I took one for the team here but happy to do that and looking forward to next year.
Magnussen had been asked whether he found himself hoping for a Safety Car to have any chance of progressing forward. His response was pragmatic and showed the outcome was far from a surprise to him:
“No, I think it was a disappointing day for us but not really unexpected with the package we’re running.”
As for whether he would have had an improved performance in Abu Dhabi in the old car he replied “Yes, it would have been slightly better with the old package — but just for my ego than anything else.”
The season as a whole was obviously far from successful for Haas F1 Team but it should not be forgotten that the season started well for them with a first point of the season scored at just the second Grand Prix weekend of the season in Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, for team boss Guenther Steiner and co, it wasn’t long before those around them brought one successful upgrade after another as the season continued.
Therefore, if Haas can start 2024 in a similar way and this time have the upgrades perform as desired, then a year from now the story could be very different. Either way, such a positive attitude from Kevin Magnussen will no doubt galvanise everyone and drive the team forward through the winter break and beyond.
