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In an alternative universe, Kevin Magnussen would definitely be at Sebring right now – either part-way through the first World Endurance Championship race of Peugeot’s new programme or preparing to do the IMSA SportsCar Championship 12 Hours tomorrow for Ganassi.
The Peugeot element of that hypothetical faded when it became clear a 2022 debut for the 9X8 meant during 2022, not at the start of it. But when that car does eventually race, Magnussen won’t be driving it. And he’s not going to be doing any US sportscar racing this weekend either.
He’s at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Back in a Haas. And a pretty remarkable 10th fastest in Friday practice. And looking like his long-run pace might be a match for constructors’ champion Mercedes.
“I can’t even believe what’s going on. It’s so cool. I feel very lucky,” says Magnussen during a media debrief peppered with slightly incredulous laughter over the rapid change in his career situation.
It wasn’t all laughs on Friday. In the morning press conference, he’d taken care to remind everyone that this wasn’t a straightforward driver switch. Ultimately Nikita Mazepin’s seat became available as the consequence of a horrific war.
But while he wishes there wasn’t a “tragic” reason behind it, Magnussen in racing driver mode is also simply making the best of his opportunity.
“The car’s been feeling good all day again, like last week,” he said.
“In FP1 we were focusing a little more on race set-up and race feeling and we weren’t trying to set a laptime.
“In FP2 we did a quali sim. Still not fully going for it, but more like a quali sim and that looked better on the times.
“But I think the long run was what I was really encouraged by. The car just felt so consistent and laptimes were really strong. I’m still very excited.”
On the final day of pre-season testing last week, Magnussen had conducted a relatively long run at the same time as Lewis Hamilton. No one could be sure how their fuel loads and engine modes compared. But if they were in the same ballpark, it was great news for Haas.
Reminded of that by The Race amid similar suspicions today, Magnussen replied: “It’s very strange. Let’s see. I can’t say that I’m believing that. I want to see it on Sunday before I believe it.”
While emphasising that “it’s not that it felt bad on quali runs”, it’s in race trim “where the car really feels strong”.
And with Magnussen’s team-mate Mick Schumacher in eighth place on Friday, the one-lap pace appears to give Haas an excellent starting point for what should be its even stronger part of the weekend.
This isn’t just about Magnussen’s unexpected third chance at F1. Perhaps more than that, this is about Haas showing it really does belong on this grid.
Magnussen was there for some of its greatest days, contributing hugely to its high point of fifth in the constructors’ championship in 2018.
But he was also there for the start of the following decline: the Rich Energy saga, the abandonment of development before the start of 2020. He missed the nadir in 2021, but he’d seen enough to know exactly where Haas ended up and why the prospect of a renaissance means so much to everyone there.
“The team knows that they’ve been working really hard on this car,” he said.
“They shifted focus fully very early and made a sacrifice with last year’s car particularly, and also 2020’s.
“It was some tough times to get to this point where we have a stronger car now and it’s a relief to be here and past all of this tough time with a car that you don’t develop.”
So is this a return to the days when Haas can lead the F1 midfield and pull off some great upsets?
“I really hope so,” Magnussen replies.
“So far it looks like it, but I have enough experience in this sport to know that you can’t feel sure of it until the season’s over, basically.
“But it’s certainly been a good start so far. We’ve only had two practices so let’s see how it goes the rest of the weekend. But a good start.”
