Kevin Magnussen: Hungaroring layout paired with hot conditions will make for “extra tough” race

Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen expects a tough, physical weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with the Hungaroring’s twisty layout providing a unique challenge and the expectation of swelteringly hot conditions. 

“It’s going to be unbelievably hot by the looks of it and Hungary is a tough track, there’s not much time to relax with the short straights. It’s physically a tough race and with the heat that we’re having in Europe, it’s going to be extra tough. I think the car is going to be fine – I expect so anyway – and it’s been good on a big variety of different tracks.”

Magnussen said that qualifying well will be of utmost importance in Hungary, considering the track’s limited overtaking opportunities.

“I like the track, and it does have a go-kart track feel because it’s always turning, it’s never long straights. It’s a fun track, it’s difficult to overtake on, so you’ll want to qualify well if you can. That’s definitely the most important element of the weekend.”

In reflecting upon the first half of the season, Magnussen said that he has enjoyed his return to Formula 1 racing, and though he has had some misfortune with a handful of retirements, he feels as though luck has been on the team’s side as of recent. 

“The first half of the season has been a lot of fun. Of course, I had no expectations because I didn’t know I was going to be racing, but it’s been good. We’ve had a good car and there’s been times where we didn’t score the points that we could’ve when we had some bad luck in a string of races, but recently it’s seeming that we’ve been a bit more lucky, and we’ve had a bit more fortune.”

When asked what his favorite memory has been from the 2021 season so far, he said that the Bahrain Grand Prix would be his pick, having achieved fifth place on his “surprising” return to the series. As far as the worst memory, he responded that he had none. 

“My best memory would be the first race I would say, not only because it was so surprising to come back but also because we got a great result. Worst? I don’t have any.”

“I expect us to be actually pretty strong here.” – Mick Schumacher

Team-mate Mick Schumacher has high expectations for his performance in Hungary, having achieved his season-best of twelfth place last year at the Hungaroring, a track that is familiar to him and requires full focus from the driver. 

“I expect us to be actually pretty strong here. We were strong last year to an extent, and I feel comfortable going there, it’s always nice and warm, and I think it will be pretty good for our car.”

“[Hungaroring is] pretty short, there’s a lot of laps and a lot of corners so there’s little opportunity to rest, which means concentration levels have to be pretty high. I always enjoy going there, I enjoyed it throughout F2 and F3, so I’m looking forward to going back and hopefully getting a strong result this year.” 

Going into summer break, Schumacher said that he wants to finish the season strong, as the first half of the season didn’t reach the high expectations of the team after their impressive performance at the season opener. 

“I think after the first race we were expecting to be a lot further up in the rankings than what we are at the moment but we’re slowly catching up and I think having a strong end to the season is just as valuable as having a strong start. Unfortunately, we missed out on the start but now we can redeem ourselves and have a good end to the season.” 

Schumacher said that his favorite memory of the season so far was the Austrian Grand Prix, where he had a great time battling out with several drivers, such as Lewis Hamilton, for what ended up being his Formula 1 career-best result of sixth place. 

“My favorite moment so far would be Austria. Obviously, it was a lot of fun being so competitive and fighting with so many great drivers out there and sometimes coming out on top.”

When it comes to a least favorite moment, he said that there is “no such thing” in his mind– he finds his low points to be valuable, as he appreciates the learnings he can take and use to move forward and improve. 

“I would say there’s no such thing as least favorite moment, most of them I would call learning moments instead, so you just go through the experience and all of them make you a better driver, so I value them.”

Credit: Steven Tee / LAT Images / Haas F1 Team