“That would be great”: Kevin Magnussen sets target for Haas F1 ahead of new season

Kevin Magnussen recently spoke about how Haas could aim for points and try to finish higher than last year.

During the 2023 F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain, the American team looked great as both Magnussen and teammate Nico Hulkenberg were able to clock decent lap times and collect loads of data for the team.

Speaking to the media, Magnussen stated that if Haas could stay sixth or seventh in the constructors' standings, that would be a good result for the team. Moreover, he expressed confidence that he and his teammate can finish in the top 10 and earn points for themselves and the team. He said:

"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 further spoke about how he finished fifth in the 2022 F1 Bahrain GP and hopes to start the new season with a similar kind of result. However, he admits that he and his team got a bit lucky with the first race in 2022.

The Dane wants to be realistic and place Haas based on their performances from the previous season. He said:

"Last year, in Bahrain, we finished fifth, so I think it's hard to expect to do that again. We also got a bit lucky [in the race] last year, stuff like that, so I think we've got to look at where we were at the end of last year and then hope to have improved a little bit on that. Then we also know that we can develop throughout the year and hopefully take more steps as we go."

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Haas saved $250k in freight costs by using smaller pit wall

During the 2023 F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain, several F1 presenters and fans noticed how the Haas F1 team's pit wall was much smaller and simpler than other teams.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Haas team boss Guenther Steiner explained how his crew came up with the idea so that they could invest more in car updates rather than setting up a lavish pit wall.

He said:

“When you need to make efficiency, you look in everything. When you need money to invest in development, because we have the cost cap, where do you put it? You have six people out there, or a quarter of a million on car updates? I know what we are doing. And the guys came up with that idea, I said if I need to stay inside, I have no problems as well. I don't need to be there."

Usually, each team's pit wall has at least six seats. However, the American team calculated that they will save around $250,000 if they shrink their pit wall to only three seats.