SAKHIR, BAHRAIN — Kevin Magnussen was in disbelief in the paddock after the Bahrain Grand Prix, following the Haas driver's "crazy" P5 finish in the Formula 1 season opener.
Haas endured a typically-difficult offseason, but this time in even more remarkable circumstances than usual. Guenther Steiner was left without driver Nikita Mazepin after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Mazepin's father being part-owner of Uralkali - the Russian chemical company which was dropped as Haas' title sponsor last month.
In stepped Magnussen, who previously raced for Haas from 2017-2020. During that time, his best finish was P5 - a feat he achieved twice in his debut season, in Austria and, coincidentally, Bahrain.
That finish has already been matched by the Dane in his first race weekend back, as he improved on his impressive qualifying performance of P7 in Sunday's main event. The late Red Bull retirements of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez certainly gave Magnussen a slice of luck, but Haas' Ferrari-powered engine - a common denominator of successful cars in this new F1 era so far - must be praised for having him in the right spot to pounce.
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With a beaming smile on his face, the 29-year-old said: "I enjoyed it a lot! It’s so good to be back in this position. I’ve just got to say a massive ‘well done’ to the team, getting this car into this position.
"We had the strongest car in the midfield. I could actually see the Mercedes for almost the whole race. It was just a different story to the past. I’m so thankful. I just can’t believe this opportunity that I’ve got here. P5 today… crazy.
"I’m just so happy, so thankful. The team has done an amazing job. I had nothing to do with this car - I just came in and drove it when it was done. It’s a great car.
"My neck is very stiff, but I was better than I thought I would be. I was worried I’d be way more tired. But sometimes when you’re in a good position, you get some extra energy. I was fine.
"We’ve just got to focus on that midfield. [Valtteri] Bottas and [Pierre] Gasly look like they’re going to be there… and [Fernando] Alonso… and you can also say [Esteban] Ocon. The midfield is our focus.
"We know we got lucky today with the two Red Bulls. If we can finish P7 in Jeddah, it’s the same as today. We just got lucky today that we got four more points than we would have in P7."
In what was a very composed drive, Magnussen's only slight bits of unwanted drama came via lockups when he was aggressive early doors. On that strategy, he continued: "It was a hard decision - ‘should I try and keep these people behind?’
"It’s a Mercedes. I didn’t know how much faster they were, so maybe I can keep them behind for this stint - I just started pushing really hard, which isn’t a good idea, looking back. I should’ve gone easy on the tyres, as we had to pit two laps earlier than our planned stop, because I used the tyres too hard.
"That was some ****** Viking comeback!" 💪
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 20, 2022
Fair to say @HaasF1Team boss Guenther Steiner was happy with @KevinMagnussen's result in Bahrain!#BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/U9FusIrH7n
"But then in the second stint, we were able to extend that and get back on track. We managed that really well with the engineers, getting the right amount of pushing in the critical corners, and got onto the C2 tyre on exactly the right lap that we planned for. Then we obviously had the safety car and a sprint race to the end."
Next up for Magussen and the F1 world tour is a trip across the Bahraini border to Saudi Arabia, and the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Looking ahead to the challenge of adapting to a new track with the revamped cars, Magnussed concluded: "I’m certainly getting more into it. I think everyone is now with these cars, learning more, getting on top of it. If you put a shoe on that doesn’t fit you, then when you start walking, it gets a bit better."
