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Returning Haas Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen set the fastest time of the Bahrain test so far in the first of the extra hours of running allotted to his team.
Magnussen, signed to replace Nikita Mazepin, whose deal has been terminated along with the agreement with Russian title sponsor Uralkali, made his return to F1 machinery on the second day of the three-day Sakhir test, having spent a year out of the series.
The Dane finished the collective testing portion of the day in ninth place, but soon began to get quicker once Haas’s ‘extra time’ commenced.
The team had to miss Thursday’s morning session due to a freight delay but is allowed to fit in a total four hours of extra standalone running over the rest of the test.
The first of these took place after Friday’s main group test, while Haas will also run for an hour prior and for two hours after the collective sessions on Saturday.
In the course of the extra hour on Friday, in what were presumably more optimal conditions by virtue of it being cooler, Magnussen added 21 laps and recorded a 1m33.207s on the C4 tyres, second-softest in the range.
This was three tenths quicker than Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s previous benchmark, also set on C4s.
It means that officially Magnussen is fastest on his first day back in F1, as Haas’s additional running is counted in the results as an extension of the session rather than a separate one.
“I don’t think it was officially a P1 was it?” said Magnussen.
“We did a good lap time there at the end, but I’m not really getting carried away by that. I’ve been here before, and I know that it doesn’t count for anything.
“It’s been a good day nonetheless. The afternoon was super good, got a lot of running. I didn’t get out of the car once. I just kept going and it was so nice to get back in a Formula 1 car, so nice to get back with the team and working with them again. I’m just super happy.
“I wish I could say that this means a whole lot. I mean, it’s always nice to see your team on top, and certainly we want that rather than being at the bottom.
“But it’s not like we believe now that we’re going to be champions this year or anything, being fastest on a test day in pre-season testing. I think anyone that knows even a little bit about Formula 1 knows that it doesn’t really mean much.”
