Kevin Magnussen (P10, 1 pt): 8/10
Kevin Magnussen made his Formula 1 debut in Australia in 2014 (filling in for an unwell Fernando Alonso at McLaren) and scored his best result and only carer podium right off the bat. While this weekend was still a shadow of those golden times, Magnussen did succeed in making the cut in the first round of qualifying and looked much more like his youthful 'Viking warrior' self on Sunday. He battled with Alex Albon over the course of the afternoon and successfully held on to what proved to be a points-paying position handed to him as a result of George Russell's last lap accident. He also played a vital role for the team in allowing Nico Hulkenberg to move ahead of him, giving Haas a double points finish that would have been unthinkable a few months ago when they claimed an emphatic wooden spoon in 2023. Genuinely impressive work by Magnussen and all concerned at the team
Nico Hulkenberg (P9, 2 pts): 8/10
Like his Haas team mate, Nico Hulkenberg had a strong weekend in Melbourne that gives hope that the squad is on the way back after the disappointment and failure of 2023. How much of that is down to new principal Ayao Komatsu when the work on the VF-24 would have been largely carried out under his predecessor is unclear. But Hulkenberg has always reliably wrung the most out of whatever hardware he is handed, and he did so again on Sunday despite a disappointing qualifying session that saw him miss the first cut after being impeded by Sergio Perez, meaning he lined up for the start in 16th. The difference this year is that the Haas can now actually sustain decent race pace without chewing on its tyres, and that gave Hulkenberg what he needed to make serious gains during the race and finish in the top ten and in the points..
