Kevin Magnussen is another member of the Formula 1 community that feel Aston Martin may be the dark horse of the 2023 season after Bahrain pre-season testing was concluded.
The Haas driver will be back at the scene of his 2022 F1 comeback next weekend as he gears up for the season-0pening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Magnussen finished the final day of testing seventh fastest, contributing 94 laps on that day to his team's total of 414 laps over the course of the three-day test.
With the midfield seemingly bunched up a bit more this season, Magnussen was asked about what he believes the pecking order is; and he started by stating the obvious; he said: "I think it’s the usual suspects at the front.
But then, and quoted by F1's official website, added what many have been pointing out; he said: "Maybe Aston Martin looked really impressive these three days. I think they may have taken a big step.
Haas in the mix of the midfield
"But then after that there’s this big group of teams that it’s very difficult to see where you are. At least we know we’re close to that group, in the mix, and then it’s a long season ahead, it’s a development race that’s going to happen," he explained.
Magnussen admitted that he could feel the cars being a bit different with the rules tweaked for 2023, raising the ride height of the cars by 15mm to avoid "porpoising" and bottoming out.
"It’s different [to last year], because the cars are different, there’s different rules, so there’s little traits that feel different, but overall it feels good," the Dane said.
"We put a soft tyre on the car at the end there and did a bit of a qualifying simulation and it actually felt good, and I think the lap time we did looks like it’s still in the midfield somewhere, so that’s a good starting point.
"It’s going to be exciting to see how we actually go in qualifying next Saturday, and then of course the big test is in the race on Sunday," Magnussen concluded.
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