Just before pre-season testing, he did not expect to return to F1 at all. He had intended to start in the WEC with Peugeot at Le Mans, among other events. Due to the circumstances, he received an unexpected call from his previous employer, Günther Steiner, and suddenly returned to Haas. He quickly scored his first points and won an unexpected pole position in Brazil. Roksana Ćwik was among three selected journalists who spoke with Kevin Magnussen ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix about the dynamic year and his new teammate next year.
Do you feel as excited about Formula 1 now as you did when you were getting back into it?
Yes, of course there’s always a special kind of excitement right at the beginning, when it was all still a surprise. Then you sort of tune in and get focused on the job and you stop thinking about how crazy it is every other second. You know, getting to Bahrain with such short notice and being back to Formula 1 and then getting that result was kind of a big and exciting thing. It’s not that I lost excitement or anything, you just get used to it and you get focused.
It's finally official that Nico Hülkenberg will be your teammate next year. What are your initial thoughts about it?
I’m happy. I mean, at the end of the day I hope it’s going to be good for the team. I’m looking forward to working with Nico. At the same time, I really enjoyed working with Mick and getting to know him. So really, what I’m focused on doing is doing the same as I was doing – giving my best to the team and help as much as I can to move us forward.
Are you talking to each other?
Yes. We’ve never been close in the past or anything but in Bahrain we met at the airport and kind of caught up for the first time. A lot of people think that we have some beef going on, but we really don’t.
It comes from a comment that you are never going to escape. It’s one of the all-time classics. So, how do you set a relationship moving forward? This is obviously the point that you both have to work together to ensure that Haas continues to go in the right direction.
Nico is a very experienced driver. In his time in Formula 1 he was always consistent and performing well. I hope that we can use that experience to help us move forward.
Are you prepared to help him? Because he will be the new guy in the team effectively.
I’m always open. You know, when I got back here this year, I was the more experienced driver in the team, and I was open with Mick all the time. I feel like if I can help him, it helps the team and it helps me at the end of the day. I think that’s the best way to work. Of course, when it all goes down to the wire, in the races you want to do your best and you’re racing with yourself in mind all the time, but at the end of the day it’s still for the team as a team effort.
Fans really love bromance between teammates, but that’s not case to be successful. As long as guys work together, you don’t have to be best mates…
Yeah, I don’t think you need to be best pals. I mean, who knows – maybe we will become best pals! But there is no pressure to build something away from the track. I respect him as a driver, and I think it’s the only thing that matters. I’ll get to know him now a bit closer, I’ve never been close to him or known him as a person. But that part doesn’t really matter. I’m sure we’ll work together well as teammates on track and off the track.
During your year away you said that you really enjoyed fighting for wins, podiums and at the front of the pack. Obviously going back here – it was not always the case all season – but then you see Brazil for example. Does that enlighten a similar fire in you, is it similar kind of feeling?
Yes, it certainly did something. It showed that these things can and do happen. It feels very good when you are such a small little team. For Haas F1 Team to be on pole position for the São Paulo Grand Prix is just phenomenal. In Q3 there were two Mercedes there, two Ferraris there, two Red Bulls, and we have beaten them. When you actually know how we work as a team and how little the organisation is compared to these big organisations it’s just impossible that we should be on pole position ever. But we were and it was a great moment for all of us.
That’s something you’re going to carry through the entire winter and into next season, it’s that positive that you’ve got to build on.
One thing is getting a great result. For Haas to get a P5 in the race is already a massive overachievement for a team like us. When I say it like that, we have so much talent in this team, but we are a small little team and it’s just so big when we do results like that. It’s crazy for a team like us, but it’s still only P5, so for me as a sportsman, I am at the end of the day about winning, so when you get P1, it’s just a different feeling and that is why I do this sport, when you get that feeling, that’s what I’m always hunting. Actually, getting that feeling in Formula 1, which I’ve never had before – I’ve only had podium and P2, but it wasn’t the same feeling. Pole position felt better.
Did you expect at the beginning of the year that you were going to be on pole position?
No, honestly, I didn’t.
Can you tell us a bit more about the situation from Brazil, when you were stuck at the track and didn’t come back to the paddock after the crash with Ricciardo?
Yeah, that was pretty bad. They left me in the middle of the track during the whole race and the marshals didn’t speak any English, so I couldn’t really ask them and when they were talking on their radio, I didn’t know what they were saying. I watched the whole race from the side of the track and then when the race finished, nobody came and got me. So, I waited for ten minutes and decided to go, because the marshals started leaving as well, so I was trying to find my way back. It was stupid, because I couldn’t get in. There was a fence to the pit lane, and I couldn’t go through this fence. So, they ended up cutting a hole in the fence and then I ended up in the pit lane with all the fans and everything. I love the fans, but it can be quite hectic when you’re there in your suit and your helmet and everything. Yeah, it was very interesting and something I hope that FIA looks into and sorts it.
What has being a father done to you? You weren’t one when you left Formula 1 but you came back as one.
You know, in Formula 1 we’re under a lot of pressure but there’s also different types of pressure. I would say that, at least for myself, the biggest pressure is my own expectation. You know, ever since I was a little child I thought of life as being all about Formula 1 and getting to the top of the sport. I thought that being a Formula 1 world champion is like the ultimate thing you can achieve in life, which I have now realised is not the case. I think that kind of took some of that pressure away and it was a positive thing, because now I can actually enjoy Formula 1 a lot more. When I was in the old mindset, it always just felt very scary to be around here and because of all that pressure for myself I felt that I wouldn’t be able to achieve happiness if I didn’t get success in the sport, which of course is a very heavy pressure. And then there’s all the pressure from outside. So, I think for me it’s actually been a positive. I heard a lot of people joke that it costs a tenth or two when you become a dad, but it’s certainly not the case – I think it’s the other way around.
Do you enjoy F1 more now than you did before?
Yeah, that’s what I said. I mean, it’s actually easier to enjoy. I always loved the sport and my love for the sport is now thriving, because there’s nothing pulling it down – there’s not this big weight on my shoulders. Of course, I still have great expectations of myself and big ambitions, but it’s just different. It’s all ok kind of thing. I’m happy.
That is something that you and Nico have in common, that you are both fathers.
Yes, apart from Checo, we are going to be the only fathers in the pit lane and driving for the same team. So that’s going to be fun. If you want to see some kinds around, just come to Haas and we’ll have lots! It’s certainly something that you feel when you are speaking to other people who are parents, you just immediately have that in common. You know, when I wasn’t a parent, I didn’t want to hear a word about kids. When other people talked about kids, I always zoned out, but now I’m fully interested in what sort of diapers they’re trying and how they do their stuff.
So, you came to think that you’re not going to be a Formula 1 champion one day…
Well, now I don’t know. Last year I thought that is over and I’m not going to be a Formula 1 world champion, but I’m back in the sport, so it’s all to play for, I guess. But it felt great last year. I was fine with it. It was a big relief to take all that weight of my shoulders and realise that happiness is not dependent on anything in Formula 1. Of course, when I got the pole position last week, it’s massive happiness, but it’s not something that will define my life and I think that’s an important realisation.
The team is P8 in the standings before the last race of the season. Is there a lot of stress regarding keeping or improving this position?
It’s a lot of pressure to finish in 8th position, because it’s important for us to get that price money that 8th gives, and we need to fight as much as we can to get it. But it’s no point stressing about it. We just need to focus and if you stress too much, it’s not helping you. It’s the last race of a very interesting and fun season, so I think it’s important that we enjoy that and just go out and race.
This year had a lot of ups and downs. During those downs, did you feel that it’s going like it did before or you always thought it might be like that?
I think there has been a lot of points that we missed because of many different things I would say. It’s not been a trend this year, I think. The only trend has been that we lost on a lot of points, but it’s been a lot of things out of our control. So, I have to say, yes, it’s been a tough season and frustrating at times, because we lost out on many good results, but we can’t blame ourselves for all of it – some of them we can and we should, but it’s also important not to beat yourself in the head for something that wasn’t in your control. I think next year of course I hope the luck favours us a little more, you always hope that. I think being where we are in the field, like competitiveness-wise, it’s inevitable that it’s going to be more up and down than if you look at the top teams, because when they have a shit day, they finish third and when we have a shit day, we finish last, and when we have a good one, we finish fifth.
Apart from luck, what is going to take to ensure that there are more days like São Paulo going forward?
São Paulo was, of course, a special set of circumstances, which allowed me and us to outperform the whole grid. It was these special conditions when you are on dry tyres in there like half-damp conditions and that’s when you can make a difference. On a normal day it’s not realistic to hope for that.
In terms of actually moving the team and car forward, what are you looking for?
Well, just forward and being a consistent pole contender is two different things. We are looking forward to just taking another step forward. I think it’s not going to help us to hope or thinking about winning a championship next year. Nobody would expect that from us, so I think it’s important that we are all focused on making progress and making sure that we are taking a step forward. Also, if you stand still in this sport, you fall behind. It’s very tough outprogressing these other teams, you know, they’re making progress as well. So, if we want to make more progress than them, it’s a tough job, so you can’t underestimate that and any progress I think is impressive.
With the budget cap coming in, you are not hitting that, but it can’t be said anymore that you are massively outspend by the opposition...
I think there are some good things going our way. We’ve got MoneyGram as a title sponsor now, and that is going to allow us to invest more in certain areas. I’m obviously not involved in that part or taking a decision in that part, but I would assume that would be the case and that is going to help in many different ways. I also think that the team has been through a couple of tough years, when some people left, and we got new people in, and this group needs to settle. When you get new people in, although they are very talented and capable, it still needs time to settle. That also has been part of the process this year, to set the team and have that settled in. That is going to be happening. It already happened to a certain extend and it’s going to be happening over the winter and next year. But year, we brought one upgrade this year, so hopefully there will be more attempts from the aero guys to put performance on the car and then we’re going to grow in different areas, in vehicle performance development, everything that we do here at the track, strategy, operational-wise, pit-stops, a lot of things have room for improvement.
Does it feel that compared to the team that you left at the end of 2020, it’s now in a much stronger position and does it feel like a very different team?
It still feels like the same team, but it’s a very dynamic thing. It’s the same team but many different things have happened within the team. I think it’s just been a very good year to kind of restart Haas. We got back into midfield contention, got our pole position and hopefully that’s going to bring a big boost to the whole team and instil the belief that we’re back in the game and we have a bright future.
What was the strongest and the weakest point of this year?
I think Australia. I remember Australia was quite bad but then we kind of turned it around a little bit and got actually a decent race until that safety car came. We started on the opposite tyre and had good pace, but that safety car came, and we didn’t get anywhere. And the highest maybe Brazil. It’s obvious to say because we got pole position, but even in dry conditions we looked really fast. The strongest race might have been Bahrain.
