Kevin Magnussen’s pace has been transformed recently, with Mexico seeing him produce his best qualifying and Formula 1 race result of the season.
Critically, that showing was not the result of some freak circumstance, as it came from some pretty impressive pace that even meant he was faster than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the closing stages of the race.
It is a far cry from the start of the season when Magnussen was struggling to get confident in Haas’s 2024 challenger, and earned attention more for his rear gunner tactics than his hard results out on track.
The breakthrough that he appears to have made since Austin, which could prove critical in Haas’s constructors’ championship battle with RB, has come at the same time as the team introduced a major new upgrade – but it is not those aero parts that have made the difference.
Instead, key to Magnussen finally unleashing the pace that he knew he had within him is increased confidence on corner entry, and especially when it comes to brake feel.
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“This year it’s been very inconsistent on the brakes and I feel like we hopefully fixed that,” said Magnussen, when asked by Motorsport.com to explain where his step forward had come from.
“It certainly seemed that way in the last two races that there was a change that was made which I really felt. That was very positive.
“Hopefully it’s not temperature-related and hopefully it is real, but it certainly coincided with making that change.”
Digging a bit deeper into the specifics of where things are better, Magnussen explained that it was all related to that initial braking phase.
“This season, when I hit the brakes, they sort of have a bit of lag and then they bite a little while after hitting the brakes,” he said.
“So it’s that initial feeling that I hit the brakes very hard. My peak brake pressure is always way higher than Nico [Hulkenberg], and so I think I just need to feel the brakes switch on immediately, and that’s been really hurting my confidence on entries.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24, Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
“It upsets you in a bad way when you already feel uncomfortable with the brakes. So that’s been a big help.
“To know that they bite on the same way every time you hit the brakes, that’s a big thing for me.”
Haas is currently 10 points ahead of RB in the fight for sixth in the constructors’ championship, having had a run of five top-10 finishes.
And although it seems to have a decent pace advantage over its Faenza-based rival, Magnussen says it cannot take anything for granted just yet.
“We’re happy that we’re 10 points ahead, but I don’t think you can ever be too confident here,” he said.
“It can swing around very quickly. They just need one good race and they’re equal with us again. So we just need to stay on the ball.”
