Magnussen happy to be back: 'Bit of a pain in my neck'

Kevin Magnussen had already retired from F1 for a year and probably didn't think a return to the premier class of motorsport was still in the cards. Nevertheless, he will drive a full season at Haas F1 this year. The Dane talks about his first day back behind the wheel.

Haas F1 has had a tough time with its Russian sponsor Uralkali. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the team said goodbye to the sponsor and its livery. Later it appeared that under these circumstances it was not tenable to keep driver Nikita Mazepin. The Russian still drove the test days in Barcelona, but for the test days in Bahrain Magnussen has been embarked who is starting a last minute return season in F1.

Due to circumstances, around the test days in Bahrain the team was given a few extra hours compared to the other teams to make up testing time. During his first test day Magnussen set the fastest time in one of those extra hours. A fine comeback therefore in the tradition of his F1 debut. In 2014 the debuting Magnussen finished second in the Australian Grand Prix.

The Dane looks back on an exciting first day: "It's so good to be back. Driving an F1 car is always fun. I didn't know I missed it so much. The initial feeling is good, at least during my session in the afternoon there were no major problems with the car. Tomorrow we'll pick it up again. My neck just hurts a little bit now, but I'm happy to be back."