‘It's the first time in Haas's history’ – Out-going Magnussen reveals crucial factor behind team’s success in 2024

Kevin Magnussen has admitted that Haas’s form in the 2024 season has come as something of a surprise, with the team currently sitting in seventh place of the constructors’ standings despite expecting to be at the rear of the pack.

There have been mixed fortunes for the American outfit in recent years, having scored no points at all during a challenging 2021 campaign before progressing to finish eighth in 2022.

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Haas subsequently ended 2023 at the bottom of the table with 10 points, leading new Team Principal Ayao Komatsu to predict ahead of 2024 that they would be “towards the back of the grid, if not last” when the season got under way.

This proved not to be the case, however, with the outfit scoring their first point of the year at the second round in Saudi Arabia before continuing to add to their tally as the campaign has progressed, putting them ahead of rivals Alpine, Williams and Kick Sauber in the standings.

As such, Magnussen – who returned to F1 with the team in 2022 but will depart at the end of the current season – feels that the first half of 2024 has been promising for Haas.

“I think, coming into this year, we thought we were going to be the last team on the grid and we haven't been, so I think it's been a positive surprise,” Magnussen explained during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

“There's always, when you look back at this stuff, things you could have done better, but I think everyone can say that, so I feel like we've had a good first half of the season.”

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One factor that Magnussen believes has been particularly positive is the performance of the updates that Haas have brought to their car so far.

“The second half I think, with the couple of upgrades we've had this year, they've actually worked, and it's the first time in Haas's history that we brought upgrades to the car that made it faster!” the 31-year-old said.

“That's a real step forward there already, so hopefully we can keep that going. I don't know. We're on a good trend, I think. So hopefully we can just keep that going.”

There are still areas where Magnussen feels that the team can improve, with the Danish driver adding: “I think we're still not consistent enough, but from last year, we improved consistency.

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“Last year, especially in qualifying, we were able to be good, but every time on Sunday, we'd just fall to pieces. And I think we've changed that situation so that it's actually almost the opposite now – we look better in the race than we do in qualifying often.

“Certainly on Sunday, we're a lot more consistent. But again, with the field so tight together, it only takes a small little mishap and you're qualifying far off your optimal position, and that's been a big driver to the inconsistency this year, I think.”