"I have never had it like this before": Kevin Magnussen revels in the tight nature of the F1 midfield
Kevin Magnussen highlighted the tight nature of the current midfield after scoring one point at the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP. The Danish driver pulled off a spectacular overtake on AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda in Jeddah.
Kevin praising yuki
"he did a great job to defend and kept me behind for many laps ... put his car on all the right spots... always getting good exits" https://t.co/Ea5vKqOxMO
Magnussen claims that teams have to get multiple things right in order to score points with the current level of competition in the sport. The Haas driver started the race in P13 but moved up three places, capitalizing on a fresh set of tires towards the end of the race.
The Danish driver praised F1's current level of competitiveness, claiming it is similar to IndyCar, where drivers often joust it out till the very end.
Speaking after the race, where Sportskeeda was present, Kevin Magnussen said of his heroic effort:
"Scoring points from P13 with the tyre management that we had was really good. It's super tight. Everyone is so close together so you're going to score points if you have a good race and you manage things right. Not just get one thing right, you need to get a couple of things right to be in the points."
Magnussen continued:
"F1 is great at the moment. It's really tight in the midfield. I have never had it like this before. Feels like we're in IndyCar or something."
Kevin Magnussen wants Haas to move up the grid and score points
Word of the day: Scrumptious 🤣
What a move from @KevinMagnussen to secure a point in Jeddah
#SaudiArabianGP #F1 https://t.co/ze39JGjGME
Haas is one of the midfield F1 teams striving to improve their position on the grid and achieve their long-term aspirations of becoming one of the leading teams. Kevin Magnussen reminisced about his team's eighth-place finish in 2022 and hopes for a higher finish this year. He intends to accumulate as many points as possible to enhance his team's chances of competing against other teams.
During pre-season testing in Bahrain, the Dane told the media:
"Last year we finished eighth. If we could be closer to the seventh [or] sixth best team from the beginning of the year, that would be great. But we have to remember where we came from and just focus on making progress and going forward. I never think that I can't go for points. I always have the mindset that I can, and I don't see any reason that we shouldn't aim for points from the testing we've had."
Magnussen's teammate Nico Hulkenberg is yet to score a single point in the 2023 season. Haas currently sits seventh in the constructors' championship. It will be interesting to watch their season progress.