Kevin Magnussen admitted he was astonished by the competitiveness of his Haas after the first day of practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Nine days after his return to the team was announced, Magnussen placed tenth in the second practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix, two places behind team mate Mick Schumacher.
Magnussen was released by the team at the end of 2020 as it needed to bring in drivers with budgets. He was rehired after Haas parted ways with Nikita Mazepin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
When he last drove for Haas in 2020 Magnussen only scored a single point all season. Following practice today Magnussen admitted he was stunned to find the team in such good shape on his return.
“I can’t even believe what’s going on,” he said. “It’s so cool, man. It’s surreal. I feel very lucky.”
Haas had long prioritised the new regulations for this year over development work on its previous chassis. It endured a long slump in competitiveness which culminated…