Kevin Magnussen was a driver for Haas in the Formula One World Championship. In the fifth season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Magnussen returns to drive for Haas in the 2022 season. The docuseries is now streaming on Netflix.
Kevin Magnussen is a driver who had driven for McLaren and Renault before signing a contract with Haas in 2017. He stayed with Haas till 2020.
Haas then replaced him, along with his teammate Romain Grosjean, with two other drivers, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.
Kevin Magnussen’s return
Magnussen was a good driver, but he was infamous for his fiery temper. When Haas failed to get the results they wanted, Haas chose not to renew Magnussen’s contract after the 2020 season.
Three weeks before the start of the 2022 season, Guenther Steiner, the team principal of Haas, is left with no choice but to fire his Russian driver, Nikita Mazepin, when Russia invades Ukraine. Haas has to let go of their Russian sponsor as well.
Steiner needs a driver as soon as possible, and he does not have many good options left. He turns to his old driver and decides to bring back Kevin Magnussen.
However, Steiner knows that bringing back Magnussen will have challenges of its own. It is hard to control Magnussen’s temper. Furthermore, Magnussen has not driven a Formula 1 car in over a year. Despite the challenges, Steiner picks Magnussen.
Kevin Magnussen’s performance
Magnussen admits that he used to be a lot angrier in the past, but he claims that he has changed now. He recently had a child, and becoming a father has changed him a lot.
Magnussen says that he is in a different place mentally, and Steiner agrees with him, as he believes that Magnussen has aged 10 years since he last met him.
At Bahrain Grand Prix, Magnussen makes his comeback. He manages to get the seventh position during the qualifying session, despite a hydraulic leak in his car.
On the day of the race, he finishes fifth, proving that he has not lost his spark in the year away from Formula 1 racing. He continues performing well throughout the season and finishes in 13th place in the championship.
As Magnussen has signed a multi-year deal with Haas, he will be seen driving for the team in the upcoming 2023 season.
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