Kevin Magnussen believes there is a “good chance” that the Haas Formula 1 team can compete at the front of the midfield in 2024.
Haas has endured a tough campaign this year, only accumulating 11 points to languish eighth in the Constructors’ Championship with just nine rounds remaining.
While its VF-23 car has consistently produced strong form over a single lap, its qualifying promise has repeatedly dissipated come race day due to excessive tyre degradation issues over longer stints.
However, Magnussen insists that Haas is in a healthy place and is hugely confident the American outfit can make the strides forward it has failed to achieve this year.
When asked if Haas has everything in place to fight at the front of the midfield, Magnussen said: “I think so. It’s so tight that I think anyone, every team feels like they can do that.
“We’ve seen some teams make very big progress this year and we haven’t really done that. I think we’ve kind of stalled in our development with the car. We’re in a very good place as a team, in a place that we haven’t really been in before. I think it’s a very healthy team right now.
“Just, we are underdelivering on the car,” he continued. “I think all the ingredients that we need to make that step forwards, I think we can do that, probably this year hopefully but certainly into next year there should be a good chance.”
It was announced ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend – where Magnussen trailed home 16th, four places behind his team-mate – that Haas would retain its current driver pairing for next year.
Magnussen, who completed a dramatic late return to F1 at the start of last year in place of the ousted Nikita Mazepin, will commence his seventh season with Haas in 2024.
“Very pleased of course. Another season with this team, it’s basically become my family now in Formula 1 – it’s going to be the seventh year – and I’m very pleased that I’m now continuing for another year and able to benefit hopefully from the work we’re putting in right now,” he expressed.
After convincingly having the measure of Mick Schumacher upon his F1 comeback year in 2022, Magnussen has been partnered alongside Nico Hulkenberg this year.
The experienced German has largely had the measure of Magnussen, out-scoring his team-mate by seven points and out-qualifying the Dane 10 times in 13 rounds.
But Magnussen asserts that he is not worried by the situation, underlining that his one-lap struggles throughout this year have been specific to this year’s car.
“No it’s never positive when you get beaten, but at the end of the day I feel that on Sunday it’s more important,” he argued.
“Not that I feel happy, like there’s been a couple of times when I was out in Q1 and he’s been in Q3 – that never feels good – but then on Sunday I leave the racetrack having had a good race and I’m like ‘OK it doesn’t matter with this one lap because on Sunday we’re struggling anyway’.
“I’ve done good qualifyings in the past up against some very competent drivers, I don’t start doubting myself because I’m struggling a bit with this particular car. Again, it’s one of those things with that much experience and years behind me comes a strength that you gain with that.”
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