Pre Race
Relax folks! It’s RACE WEEKEND!
Four weeks after the Australian Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen and the rest of the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team are ready to rumble in Baku. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix, known for its notorious street circuit, will host the first of six planned sprint races – now inclusive of a stand-alone qualifying session on Saturday to set the sprint grid, while the traditional qualifying session for the main race will take place already on Friday. Practice sessions? Yes, but only one!
Oh, and Magnussen fans can be super excited about the upcoming sprint weekend, as the Dane has scored points in all three of last year’s sprint races!
“I hope we can score some points in Baku this year. Last year, we were in the running towards the end of the grand prix, but then my engine broke down. So, last year we had the pace but didn’t finish it off because of reliability, and hopefully this year we can have a strong weekend again and not have any issues. I’m positive that we can be strong,” says Kevin Magnussen.
FUN FACTS: The six-kilometer-long Baku City Circuit – the third longest on the F1 schedule – is a spectacular mix of very long straights and narrow, twisty sections around the old city of Baku. There’s also a full-throttle sector where the drivers can go flat out for two kilometers!
The weekend’s one and only practice session will take place on Friday followed by qualifying for the main race. Sprint qualifying and sprint race will take place on Saturday. Sunday’s 51-lap Azerbaijan Grand Prix begins at 15:00 local time (GMT +4).
Sprint Race
Update from Baku and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Kevin Magnussen finished just outside the points with a P11 in yesterday’s sprint race. The Admin By Request sponsored Dane will start his MoneyGram Haas F1 Team VF-23 #20 from a P18 in the main race today!
“It’s obviously a longer race, and unfortunately I’m starting a bit far down because of some electrical issues we had in qualifying on Friday. But, there’s a lot more pace than that and hopefully I can get a good first lap, have a clean race and try to make it into the top 10. That would be nice,” said K-Magnussen.
Green flag at 15:00 local time (GMT+4).
Race Day
So long, Baku!
Kevin Magnussen finished on a P13 in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. The Danish Formula 1 driver showed impressive race speed after a weekend with technical issues and lost track time in both the practice and qualifying sessions – and he was inside the top 10 when he unfortunately ran wide in a corner and lost positions.
“Decent pace today, but I was stuck in traffic the whole race, and I just couldn’t pass. A bit of the same story as last year as we were in the points until the end, but this year, we had even more pace. Hopefully that carries onto Miami, and we will try again,” said K-Mag after the race.
Round five of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship will take place on the 5-7 May in Miami, Florida.
