Kevin Magnussen Q&A: United States Grand Prix
October 19, 2022
Formula 1 returns to the Circuit of The Americas for Round 19 of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. What were your initial impressions of the circuit when you first raced there in 2014 and how has that evolved over the years – have you changed your approach at all?
“I don’t think it’s really evolved in terms of how I approach it. It’s a great track, it has become very bumpy so some years when we get there it’s super bumpy and then others, they grind down those bumps so the circuit changes its character a little bit in that way. As I said, it’s a great track, especially sector 1 – it’s super high-speed, the ‘esses’ I think are actually some of the coolest corners in F1. There’s a bit too much run-off for my liking but the layout itself is very cool, so I’m looking forward to going back there.”7
They say everything is bigger in Texas and Turn 1 certainly lives up to that statement. With a steep uphill approach, how do you master that on lap 1 and manage to overtake during the race without losing the place back through Turn 3 - 6?
“It’s a pretty unique corner. It becomes very wide towards the apex, you can’t actually see the track as it’s over a crest and it’s super wide. The apex itself is very narrow so it creates opportunities for a lot of different lines. Overtaking there is a big opportunity with it being straight after a DRS zone as well.
"There aren’t many corners that have that sort of width to it. It’s kind of easy to lock-up towards the apex because you go over that crest but as you hit the brakes, you’re on that hill so you can brake very hard because of that. After Turn 1, you go downhill again into those ‘esses’ and that’s where following becomes a bit tricky so if you’ve got the position, it’s pretty easy to keep it afterwards because of the high-speed corners.”
It’s going to be a busy event for Haas F1 Team at its ‘home’ race, with lots of events, activations, and a few surprises as well. Have you felt the growth of the sport in America, both competing for Haas, but also taking a year away from the sport but racing in America, now you’re back inside the paddock?
“It’s exciting coming back to our home race although you could say we have a few home races now, but COTA is a bit special I feel. We’ve got Haas Hill there and I feel it’s one event where we have a bit of extra pressure because I feel like we want to get a good result at our home race.”
It’s the Circuit of The Americas’ 10th birthday this season, with Haas F1 Team competing in five of those races. With COTA becoming the place for America’s hardcore fan base in that time, and having now raced in Miami this season and with Las Vegas coming up, where do you see those races finding their niche amongst US fans and what qualities does each bring to the calendar?
“I think from the beginning COTA has been pretty special because there were so many people there. I don’t think it was a sold-out event at the beginning but it certainly was last year, so it’s become very visual how Formula 1 has grown in the US. It’s still kind of got that American motorsport feel to it – on the back straight you can see the campers and the big RVs – which is how Americans tend to go to races if you go to IMSA, IndyCar and others.
"At the same time, all the fans who don’t go camping but go there for the event on Sunday, I think a lot of them are new fans and that’s cool. In Miami it seemed like there was a lot of new fans, with a lot of people coming to the race who I feel probably haven’t seen a race a Formula 1 race on television, and I expect the same with Las Vegas. That’s a part of Formula 1 too now and I think Netflix has really put the sport on the map, and that’s very good.”