Kevin Magnussen Q&A: Austrian Grand Prix

Round 11 of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship is the Austrian Grand Prix, the second Sprint weekend on the 2022 schedule. It also marks your second Sprint weekend – what did you learn from Imola and what’s your assessment on Sprint weekends so far?

“Imola was my first Sprint and we had a good weekend, we scored points in both the Sprint and the main race, so it’s always nice to have a good first experience so hopefully we can do the same in Austria. I watched them last year and the big question is whether or not you want to take a risk in the Sprint. If you didn’t qualify for your position in the main race during the Sprint and instead the qualifying on Friday was your starting position for both the Sprint and the main race, then you would be able to go for it in the Sprint without having to take risks for your starting position. Maybe that could be a solution to make people go for it a bit more in the Sprint.” 

 

The 2018 Austrian Grand Prix was the most successful in Haas F1 Team’s short history. What do you remember about that race and share some of your feelings after crossing the finishing line?

“It was awesome for the team. It was one of those days where, being such a small team and getting that kind of result with both cars, it felt so great to be that small team with the resources we have, especially at that time, to beat those big teams on that day.”

The area around the Red Bull Ring is known for having changing weather. Having experienced good results with the VF-22 in the wet, most noticeably during qualifying in Montreal, do you look forward to the chance of rain?

“It seems that we have a good car in the wet. Somehow, it seems more competitive when it’s a wet track, so naturally you hope for wet all the time. I did do a lot of karting in the wet as I grew up in Denmark, but I don’t think that’s why. There’s a lot less grip and you feel on the edge in the car in the wet so there’s more risk in a way, and it’s more exhilarating to drive, it just adds a little more.”

 

At 677 meters above sea level, engines and brakes come in for a hard time in Austria. With these new cars, how vital is looking after them going to be in order to make it to the finish line on Sunday? 

“We haven’t actually really been able to say on this type of track if we’re stronger or weaker, it seems that our car is about the same at most tracks - it’s more of a tire thing. In Melbourne, the only place where I feel like we were uncompetitive, it was more about the tires, being able to get them into the window, so it’s hard to predict.”