That’s why Kevin Magnussen has to go

Haas made a statement on the Formula 1 driver market today for the second time this F1 season. The US team announced on the media day before the Hungarian GP that Kevin Magnussen would definitely not be racing for them next year. Ayao Komatsu now explained what prompted the team to make this decision.

Although Komatsu stressed that the difference between Magnussen and teammate Nico Hülkenberg this year was smaller than the points table in Formula 1 would suggest, there was one factor that made his two current drivers very different. “What he lacked was consistency,” said Komatsu, explaining the reason for Magnussen’s exit.

Not consistent enough: That’s why Magnussen has to leave Haas

Especially in combination with the When recruiting Ferrari’s young star Oliver Bearman, however, it was precisely this consistency that was the most important requirement for the second Haas driver. “He is a young driver, so the other driver has to provide a constant reference and if you look at Nico and Kevin, then I need someone who is closer to Nico’s consistency,” he stressed.

Magnussen also often lacked consistency over the course of a Formula 1 weekend. “What made the decision difficult was that sometimes he started well in FP1 on a weekend, but then didn’t deliver in qualifying or in the sprint,” the Haas team boss continued.

“It’s not always Kevin’s fault. Sometimes it’s due to the conditions, sometimes it’s due to a mistake by the team and so on. That’s why it wasn’t an easy decision,” Komatsu later relativized his criticism of his current driver’s performance.

Kevin Magnussen: Team player qualities are not enough

However, over the last year and a half, there have been regular gaps between the two Haas drivers, particularly on one lap. In the current season, for example, Magnussen has not made it into Q3 in a regular qualifying session, while Hülkenberg is almost a regular there, having participated in Q3 six times.

What spoke in favor of keeping Magnussen, however, was his work for the team. “Kevin was extremely helpful. That was another factor that I took into account when making my decision. Kevin was a complete team player. He knew how he wanted to change and improve the team and he was an integral part of it. That’s why the decision was not easy,” said the former Haas technical director, who took over as team boss from Günther Steiner during the winter break.

Who will get the Formula 1 cockpit at Haas? Decision before the summer break

“But what we need is a driver who can show us the limits of the car week after week and who can develop the car. For that I need someone who has experience, gives good feedback and shows consistency. That’s why we made the decision to make a change,” Komatsu summed up.

Who the Formula 1 driver will be who, according to Haas, can deliver these three components better than Kevin Magnussen has not yet been communicated. However, the team seems to have already decided on a candidate. “I am fairly certain,” Komatsu said, convinced that the successor has already been chosen. The announcement is imminent: “I think we can make a decision before the shutdown.”

The shutdown is the period during the summer break when the Formula 1 factories are idle. In concrete terms, this means that the driver decision will be made before the summer break, which begins after the Belgian GP in just over a week. Komatsu did not name any names, but Esteban Ocon is considered the favorite for the cockpit. There are already reports that the Frenchman has already signed with Haas. There were already rumours in the paddock about an announcement before the Budapest weekend. But this did not happen.

Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *