Day 1
JAPAAAAAAAN 🇯🇵 👊
Round 4 of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship is well underway, and Kevin Magnussen ran his first laps on the famous Suzuka circuit this Friday afternoon. Japan has been a cornerstone of Formula 1’s championship for several decades but 2024 marks a tweaked landscape, with the race moving from fall to spring for the first time in its history – just in time for the country’s famed cherry blossom season!
Kevin Magnussen has contested its grand prix seven times, recording a best of eighth with the team in 2017. After scoring his first point of the season in Australia two weeks ago, what does the Danish racing ace think about the upcoming race in Japan?
“Suzuka is one of the classics! Driving-wise, probably one of the races throughout the year where you can have the most fun driving. Also, Japanese fans are unique, and they do fan culture differently, and that’s always an experience. On paper, Suzuka doesn’t look like it’s going to suit us that well, but I still think we have a better foundation in the car than we did last year. Hopefully, even if we can’t qualify as well there, we’ll still be able to race well and that’s certainly the hope,” said K-Mag.
DID YOU KNOW THAT … Suzuka Circuit opened in 1962 and was built by Mr. Soichiro Honda – yes, the founder of the famous Japanese car company that still owns the circuit today. It hosted the first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1987, and it’s still the only ‘figure of eight track’ on the Formula 1 calendar.
Day 2
Get up and get ready! 🎌 👏
Quick update from Suzuka Circuit where Kevin Magnussen didn’t make it to Q2 in Saturday’s qualifying and will start 18th in the Japanese Grand Prix. A disappointing session for the Danish Haas F1 driver, who, however, had anticipated the challenges.
“We knew this track wasn’t going to be our track, but on top of that, on our side of the garage, we’ve maybe just missed the beat a little bit on the build-up to the weekend. It’s not been the cleanest run-up to qualifying. We improved the car for the session, but we started quite far from where we were with the set-up from yesterday. Anyway, we have a race tomorrow, and hopefully – like the first three races of the season, we can make some ground up in that. We’ll certainly be trying,” said Magnussen.
Optimistic words from our favorite Formula 1 driver! Let’s cross our fingers for another great race!
Race Day
“It’s encouraging that we can be in hunt for points” 🏁
That’s a wrap for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team in Japan where Kevin Magnussen finished P13 – gaining five places through the tricky race that was interrupted by a red flag right after the start. As teammate Hulkenberg crossed the finish line in P11, it was yet another weekend where the American team proved they are capable of chasing points.
“At one point I was running inside the top 10 – I didn’t know what those around me were doing so I wasn’t sure if it was realistic or not – but I was trying. With the tires we had, the red flag effectively helped a few people, and they were able to do a one stop from hard to hard, where I had to do two stops from medium to hard, so that was tough. I had to pit quite early for the second stint on the hard tires, so it was a bit tricky,” said Magnussen.
“We’re there or thereabouts in the races again, so that’s encouraging and gives some hope for coming races that we can be in the hunt for points.”
Solid job, team! Let’s hope for a little more luck next time! Next race will be the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit on April 21.
