Kevin Magnussen says it’s unlikely he will be driving for any team other than Haas in 2019.
Silly season is in full swing with the futures of Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen dominating the headlines in recent weeks. Magnussen’s future with the American squad is yet to be confirmed with team boss Guenther Steiner saying a decision over the team’s 2019 driver line-up won’t be made until the summer break at the very earliest.
When asked about his future in Thursday’s press conference in Austria, Magnussen said: “I think they’ve got an option on me so I don’t think there’s much chance of me going anywhere else. We will just take it as it comes, there’s no stress at the moment.”
The Dane has been one of F1’s star performers in 2018, scoring all of Haas’ 27 points and out-performing teammate Romain Grosjean consistently through the first part of the season. Magnussen believes his impressive form this season is down to team continuity — something he hasn’t had in the past.
“I think it’s been a pretty good season so far,” Magnussen added. “The car is better this year than last year. In Formula One I haven’t had this good and competitive car since my first year with McLaren and it’s really good, it’s a lot more fun going racing when you have a car which can fight for points and top fives on a good day.
“I am enjoying it a lot and I think part of the reason is obviously the car is better but this is my second year at Haas as well and it’s the first time in my career, my whole career even before Formula One, that I spend the second year in the same team. It’s a big advantage knowing everyone and more so having that experience together. Every race when you going into the race preparing you can look back at a same race with the same people, almost the same car so there’s a lot of experience there in the second year that is a big advantage as well.”