Kevin Magnussen said on Thursday that he is ready for more pressure and a bigger challenge in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, just days after finishing fifth in his Formula One return. The Dane returned to the American-owned Haas team after the departure of Russian driver Nikita Mazepin and immediately showed his qualities.
In Bahrain he enjoyed racing on a circuit he knew because it is used for pre-season testing. On Sunday, he will be taking a trip into the unknown at the high-speed Jeddah Street Circuit.
“I’ve had no preparation here,” he told reporters. “The main difference will be that I just don’t know this track. Bahrain was straightforward for me as we had the test and it is well-known.
“Here, it is more of the unknown so there is more pressure not to mess things up and cost us a set of tyres. There’s a lot more pressure, but we’ll just have to deal with it.”
Magnussen’s return after being dropped by Haas for the 2021 season was one of the most upbeat stories from Bahrain where the American team performed better than expected.
Team-mate Mick Schumacher enjoyed his best F1 finish in 11th place to give Haas a further boost ahead of the second round of the season.
“It doesn’t look like an easy track,” added Magnussen. “It’s one of the tracks that you’d like to have as many laps on as possible so, hopefully, I can sort of be catching up by qualifying.
“Then I can go for it in the race,” he said “I am looking forward to it.”
He said he has not had time to experience the track even in the simulator and had relied on videos to learn it.
“It’s a high-speed track for a speed circuit and last year it was a pretty crazy race,” he added. “Let’s see what we can do.
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