Kevin Magnussen could drive his way out of the crisis in 2024 because the new Haas should suit him better again, at least according to new team boss Ayao Komatsu
Can Kevin Magnussen cope much better with the Haas 2024? At least that’s what new team boss Ayao Komatsu, who succeeded his predecessor Günther Steiner at the helm of the American racing team, believes
Magnussen had a difficult year in 2023. After holding his own against Mick Schumacher in 2022 – even though the race duels actually went to the German with 13:8 – the Dane had a difficult time against comebacker Nico Hülkenberg last year.
Hülkenberg clearly had his team-mate under control, winning the qualifying duel 15:7 and the race duel 13:9 (to the overview of all duels). This was mainly due to the fact that Magnussen was not able to get as much out of the car with his driving style as the driver from Emmerich.
Magnussen likes to take speed into the corners. To do this, he needs a car that can master the transition from braking to turning in well – and the Haas VF-23 was unable to do this. Instead, it lost stability.
This suited Hülkenberg, on the other hand, who drives more of a V-style: He brakes harder, then turns in sharply and then accelerates again.
“You can’t combine the G-forces so much with this car,” Magnussen said during the season. “You have to drive the corners more with V. And those are the two different driving styles: V-style or not.” Magnussen continued: “This year’s car is even more susceptible to that on our side. “
Working on the weaknesses in winter
The upgrade at the end of the season suited Magnussen better, while Hülkenberg switched back to the old version because it suited him better.
Over the winter, Haas worked on rectifying last year’s problems. This should help Magnussen in particular to improve his form, says Komatsu.
“I wouldn’t say we’ve fixed them, that’s a big word,” he says when asked about the problems Magnussen struggled with last year. “But we have definitely improved.”
“He is a driver who needs good stability on the entry and consistent handling in the corner,” said the Japanese driver.
Komatsu: No bullshit with the drivers
He says he has a good working relationship with his two drivers and reckons they could make good progress together if they are honest with each other.
“I’ve known Kevin for a few years now,” he says. “I really enjoyed working with Nico last year. I didn’t know him before,” says the team boss, who can, however, look back on an earlier incident with the German: When he was still at Lotus as Romain Grosjean’s engineer, Hülkenberg came in for a seat adjustment.
But now the two have known each other for a year, and Magnussen even longer. “They both know that I’m pretty direct. I say what I think. Not aggressively or anything, but no bullshit. We just don’t have any time to waste,” says Komatsu.
“They know exactly where I am, where they are, and we work well together. As far as our strengths and weaknesses, we get along pretty well. We have a good, open and transparent dialog, and I’m very happy with that. “
