Kevin Magnussen Q&A: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
April 20, 2022
Kevin Magnussen looks ahead to the first European race of the season, as Imola hosts Formula 1 this weekend.
We head to Imola for the fourth round of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. You’ve raced here once before in 2020, where you unfortunately had to retire during the race through gearbox issues. What are the distinguishing traits of the circuit and do you think this track will suit the VF-22?
“Imola is an awesome track but the characteristics and speed-wise – corner speeds and straights – make it a more average track. As it has a bit of everything, and this car is all-round good, I think we should be able to do well there. I’m looking forward to it because it’s an awesome track.”
To maximize a flying lap of this track, we often see drivers riding the kerbs, with these new cars is that achievable without damage or will the racing line need to be adapted?
“The cars are lower and they’re also stiffer, so kerb riding is a little harder than it used to be with the old cars. We’ll see, I hope whatever challenges these new cars have we can still be in the competitive range in terms of kerb riding. Again, I think our car is all-round very strong so it should be alright.”
This is the first Sprint event of the season and your first experience of taking part in a Sprint event weekend with an altered timetable. What are your thoughts on what you saw last year and now with the added opportunity for drivers to score points for finishing eighth and higher, do you think we’ll see more racing?
“I think it’s good that they’ve added points for finishing eighth and higher because there’s a pay bonus for points so I’m going to go all out, and the racing is going to be great! I think it’s interesting as last year sometimes it was a little less exciting as people were more conservative because there wasn’t as much at stake. Now that there are points, I think we’ll see more tough racing, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Last month, Formula 1 announced that it would continue to race in Imola until 2025. With the emergence of new locations joining the calendar, do you think it’s still important to protect and continue racing at circuits with such history, or is it just as important to expand the sport into new territories?
“As a racing driver I feel strongly about going to tracks that have history, but I also see that Formula 1 has to expand, and that it is good for the sport to go to new places and reach new fans.”