Steiner: Haas might have to pay a premium to keep Magnussen

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Haas F1 manager Guenther Steiner has admitted that Kevin Magnussen's strong start to 2018 will mean it might cost more for the team to retain his services next season.

Haas has an option on the Dane for next year, but Steiner fears that bigger teams may move in and attempt to steal him away.

"I don't know if he'll get an offer from someone else," Steiner told BT newspaper in Baku.

"It's a problem I do not need to comment on right now," he continued. "But having a good driver that others are interested in is a luxury problem.

"It's a bridge we will cross once we reach it.

"Of course we know we have to work hard to keep him, but Kevin has respect for us. He knows we helped bring him to the position he's in now.

"There's so much natural talent, but to make full use of it, he has to have the right environment," he said. "In our small, clear and honest team, he feels at home, and with our 2018 car he can really deliver.

Magnussen praises 'more forgiving, more predictable' Haas

"A stronger car gives you more confidence and that I think is what Kevin needed," Steiner continued. "Being the second year in a team you don’t always have to worry about ‘do I drive next year?’"

Magnussen's current form contrasts with Romain Grosjean, who has been struggling so far in the first three races of 2018.

"Romain is more that the car needs to be perfect to his liking," Steiner told Motorsport.com. "Whereas Kevin can drive around a lot of things.

“If we have a perfect car then [Romain] is fantastic whereas Kevin says ‘okay it is okay," he added. "If Kevin has a small problem he adapts better to drive around it.

"He has learned, and he pushes hard for what he wants now."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.