Kevin Magnussen has expressed his excitement as he prepares to leave Renault for Haas at the end of the season, labelling their performances this term “hugely impressive”.
The Dane reportedly turned down a one-year contract offer from Renault in favour of a switch to the American newcomers following weeks of waiting for a decision from the French manufacturer.
Magnussen will replace Esteban Gutierrez, who has failed to score a single point this year, with current teammate Jolyon Palmer taking the seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg.
Though the move certainly represents a risk given Renault’s enormous potential and championship-winning aspirations, Magnussen believes Haas too can climb the pecking order, unfazed by their inconsistency during their maiden campaign.
“I don’t think it’s the only team that has had ups and downs,” the former McLaren driver stressed. “There are probably only three or four teams that have achieved stability over the season. That’s not really the problem, I mean it is a problem, but many people have that in our end of the grid.
“I think it has been hugely impressive what they have done in their first year, it’s not a team that has taken over another team, they have created a new team of people and have been outright points scorers, even in their first race. I think that’s very impressive and very exciting.”
Magnussen is also confident Haas’ close technical partnership with engine suppliers Ferrari, which propelled them into points contention from the outset, will benefit the team going forward.
“The group of people they have and the way they do things, it’s a little bit different to others,” he said. “I think they can be strong on a consistent base, so I’m looking forward to it.”
The signing of the 24-year old represents a fantastic coup for Gene Haas’ outfit, with their pairing of Magnussen and Grosjean potentially one of the strongest on the 2017 grid thus far.
However, Magnussen’s hopes of another shot at the ‘big time’ after his single year at McLaren have surely taken another hit, with Haas set to fall behind Renault and face competition from a financially-stronger Sauber next year.
It is understood that the team are already lagging slightly behind on their 2017 development, though they do anticipate a flurry of upgrades in the early part of the campaign.
