Kevin Magnussen Q&A: French Grand Prix

For Round 12 of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, Haas F1 Team heads to the French Riviera. You scored sixth place on Formula 1’s return to France in 2018 - is it a track with characteristics you like, or does it simply provide more opportunity to try different racing lines thanks to its wide run-offs?

“France is a pretty unique circuit because it’s very flat, it’s quite wide in places and you have a lot of run off. It feels different driving there compared to other tracks. We had a good result back in 2018 and it’s always nice going back to places where you’ve had good experiences in the past, so I’m hoping for more good results.”

 

When thinking about Paul Ricard, the different colored markings around the track have become synonymous with the circuit. With it being the first time using the new Pirelli tires on this track, how cautious will you be during that first practice session? 

“It’s been a while now since I’ve raced a Formula 1 car around there so in FP1 I’m going to find my rhythm again and on this track with all the run off there’s no real risk from going straight out and pushing, so I’ll be doing that.”

Paul Ricard is a circuit where you can really test the limits of the car before exceeding track limits. Will this be a good test to extract the full potential of the VF-22 ahead of upgrades in the next race?

“It will likely be one of, or the last race we do with this package before getting the upgrades so we’re sort of at the end of the life of this package but there is still stuff that we’re finding out, but it’s obviously getting less and less every race. The gains we are finding are becoming less but we’ll still be looking to find whatever gains we can and extract the most out of what we’ve got.”

 

We’re halfway through this run of four races in the month of July - how are you finding such a rapid succession of races and in your opinion does this contribute to being in peak physical condition or in an ideal world would you have longer to recover and prepare? 

“At this stage, it’s good to have as many races as possible for my fitness. My fitness is pretty good now, just when I’m in the gym or working out but when I’m in the car it’s all neck basically – 80/20 neck. Having all those races close together is very good for building that neck strength.”