Magnussen and Haas return to the land of their pole position in Brazil

This week-end, Kevin Magnussen et Haas will look back on the good memories of 2022. A year ago, in changing conditions, the Dane achieved the greatest achievement of his career in F1 : clinch a pole position, in complete surprise! A first for him and for the American team since his arrival in the discipline in 2016. The Scandinavian, who started first during the Sprint Race – the 2022 format was then different from that of 2023 – finished 8th on Saturday then, taken in an accident with Daniel Ricciardo, had retired during the Brazilian Grand Prix.

A year later, time has passed but the memories remain. “It was a fantastic time for me and the team last year, but in Formula 1 you quickly move on and focus on the next thing you want to achieve, says Kevin Magnussen. Right now we are in a very different situation. It will nevertheless be nice to return to São Paulo, it is a classic of the calendar and the memory of last year will make it a good feeling. »

Are developments finally effective in Brazil?

And the Dane is right: after the Mexican Grand Prix, Haas fell to last place among the Manufacturers for the first time this season. Overtaken by Alpha Tauri, the American team has three rounds to react and avoid finishing last as in 2021. The major developments made in Austin have not yet shown their potential. According to Günther Steiner, Brazil will be a key benchmark for knowing whether these supposed improvements work… or not.

“The main takeaways are that we were maybe waiting a little longer for these developments, but there are still ups and downs because Austin was a Sprint weekend with few tests, and Mexico had a very high altitude, underlines the Italian director. We didn't have enough aero downforce last weekend, so I haven't come to a full conclusion yet, but expectations were a bit higher, although it gives us the right direction for next year . »

In Brazil, the two Haas drivers share an astonishing statistic: their only career pole position was won in São Paulo (in 2010 for Hulkenberg, in 2022 for Magnussen). A circuit that is successful for the German-Danish pair who, in this last weekend of Sprint format, hope to achieve valuable points for the Manufacturers' championship. Haas has only scored one point in the last ten meetings…

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