'Experience' key to Haas success in 2018, says Magnussen

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Kevin Magnussen says that growing experience in every part of the Haas F1 Team is the reason why the American squad is doing so well in 2018.

Haas only entered Formula 1 for the first time three years ago, but this year is already challenging for fourth place in the constructors championship - the 'best of the rest' behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

Magnussen said that this showed how much the team had improved year on year, and he offered suggestions for what was behind their success.

“I think there are a couple of things that stand out this year. One of them is, obviously, just experience," he said.

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"The team has been growing every year. Everyone is using their experience better and better, while at the same time, gaining more experience.

"I also think the quality of our car, in terms of the actual build of our car, is much better. We’re better able to put the car on track that we intended to, and not have little errors or faults in production of the car.

"That quality is a lot better this year, and I think that contributes as well to the performance.

"Our tyre knowledge has improved a lot," he added. "In Formula 1, Pirelli tyres are very tricky, and our management and understanding has improved a lot this year. I would say those are the main things regarding our growth this year.”

Next weekend, the squad will have extra motivation as it heads into its home race, the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

“There’s absolutely an extra will, or motivation, to do well in the USA," acknowledged Magnussen.

"We always try our best. We’re always on maximum attack to get the best result possible. It just carries a bit more significance to get a good result in America and at our home track.

"America’s obviously not my home country, but you feel like it is racing there that weekend," he added. “If there’s one place I’d like to live outside of Denmark, it would be America.

"I’d love to see another race in America. I really enjoy the country. I love being over there."

Magnussen said that he was a fan of both the circuit and the city in which it is located.

“COTA is a little bit better than most other circuits in that it doesn’t just have one place to overtake," he explained.

"It has a few places to overtake, not just the one or two that most tracks have. Some tracks don’t have any. COTA has a few places where you can line it up for a move. It’s a good track for racing.

“The city’s just great for going out," he continued. "There are great restaurants and great places for having fun. Having a Formula 1 race there is the perfect package for having a good weekend!"

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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.