Haas ‘new boy’ Kevin Magnussen is expecting the new generation Formula 1 cars will be tougher to drive but relishes the fact that they will faster and have more grip.
Magnussen said in an interview, “I have to assume the cars will be massively hard to drive. The motivation to train hard is quite high because I feel like it might make a real difference.”
“The training is not just two hours on a bike or on a treadmill, it’s really tough, focused training, which I enjoy,” explained the Dane who swapped to the Haas team for 2017 after a year with Renault.
“I’m quite excited because having faster cars is good for us. We want to push and to go fast and be on the limit.”
“With the last generation of cars, the grip was so low and the power compared to the grip was very high. You were always on the limit from the moment you leave the pitlane.”
“So it will be good to drive a car that challenges you to find the limit instead of looking for a compromise – tyres, aero, balance and so on.”
“I hope it’s going to be more challenging to find the limit.”
Many are predicting that the wider tyres and more grip thanks to aero tweaks allowed by the new rules will negatively affect on-track racing, nut Magnussen is not sure this will be the case.
“When you open the DRS it should make a bigger difference to the car in front, so there are things that point to better racing. With more downforce, you would think it would be hard to stay close but we will have to wait and see,” added Magnussen.