Magnussen worried that he would be more tired in the stellar Bahrain F1 return

Magnussen was dropped by Haas at the end of the 2020 season and spent last season in Sportscar Racing competing for the full IMSA SportsCar Championship with Chip Ganassi Racing before signing a contract with Peugeot’s nascent Le Mans Hypercar project.

But the Dane was reminded by Haas to replace the kidnapped Nikita Mazepin on the eve of the second F1 Test in Bahrain and followed the team’s first Q3 appearance since 2019 with a remarkable run to fifth place as the leading midfielder.

Magnussen, who took his seat in winner Ganassi Cadillac for Saturday’s Sebring 12 Hours by Neel Jani, was seventh on his return before retiring late for both Red Bulls, raising him to fifth – the team’s best result since the 2018 Austrian Grand. Price.

After the race, Magnussen said: “It was a lot of fun, I really enjoyed it. It’s so good to be back in that position, I just have to do a massive job to tell the team.

“I think we were the strongest car in the midfield, I could see the Mercedes almost the whole race. I know we had a safety car in the end, so that helped a bit, but it was just a different story and of the past.

“I always say all weekend that I just do not believe this opportunity I have here. P5 today, crazy.”

Magnussen acknowledged that his neck felt “pretty stiff”, but said he was “better than I thought I was” from a fitness perspective.

“I was worried I would be a lot more tired,” he said.

“But sometimes when you’m in a good position, you get a little extra energy and I’m sure – I was good.”

Magnussen, however, said the team will not be carried away by his show in Bahrain, and said it will remain focused on the midfield battle in the upcoming races.

“The midfield is our focus and we know we were lucky with the Red Bulls today,” he said.

“If we finish the P7 in Jeddah, then it’s basically the same as today. We were just lucky today to have four more points than we would have with a P7.”

Magnussen stated that he “used the tires too hard” at his opening station, which led him to do two laps earlier than planned, but managed to finish his second stint – also on soft tires – with the extend the same amount to get back to the team original. Strategy.

“Also [we] has done this really well with the engineers getting the right amount of pressure to get into the critical corners and all that, “he said.

“I’m certainly going more into it, but I think everyone is with these cars now, just learning more, more about it.

“It’s always like wearing a shoe that fits you, when you start walking, it still gets better, so it’s a bit like that.”