What if Magnussen had been told Haas would be so fast? 'Bullsh*t'

The story is well known by now: over a week ago Kevin Magnussen was on vacation with his family, when he was suddenly asked to return to Haas. The Dane did not hesitate for a moment and got on the plane to Bahrain. And there a little fairy tale seems to be unfolding.

Successful tactics

Last year, the Haas was unstoppable. There was no further development, because all focus was already on the car of 2022. For now, that tactic seems to be working. Haas can rightly be called one of the big winners of the first qualifying session. Magnussen put the car in an extremely good seventh position. This gives the veteran driver - who was actually at peace with ending his F1 career - every chance of finishing in the points, when the first Grand Prix starts later today.

The American site The Race asked Magnussen after qualifying what he would have said had he been told that place seven was possible. The answer was typical Magnussen: "Bullsh*t!"

Potential

It was only during qualifying that Magnussen really got the message that the Haas had serious potential: "I was in the car and I saw after the first run in Q2 that I was ahead of the two Mercedes," he said. "I was like 'Yeah, okay'. And I was in P4 and it was just crazy. Now I believe the car is good."