Haas F1's Kevin Magnussen preparing for increased physical demands in 2017
Danish racing driver Kevin Magnussen, who switches from Renault to Haas for 2017, says he is training harder than ever before for the new season.
The F1 cars are expected to look and behave much different for the coming season thanks a new set of regulation changes, which are expected to produce the fastest cars F1 has ever seen.
“I’ve definitely stepped [my physical routine] up a lot over the winter,” says Magnussen. “This winter has been mostly about training. I haven’t travelled anywhere or anything, I’ve stayed at home to train with my fitness trainer in Denmark and that’s because we don’t really know how fast these cars are going to be and how physically demanding they’re going to be, so you just have to prepare as hard as you can.”
Magnussen added that most of the work he has done has been strength-training, which has made him put on a little bit of weight.
But while the drivers may have to take on new challenges for the new season, Magnussen says he thinks the new cars will suit his driving style.
“I’m a driver that, if I have a problem, it’s most of the time because I’m overdriving,” the Dane explains. “I naturally tend to overdrive the car and these new cars will probably suit that better.
“It’s going to be fun to drive and, if our expectations are true, they’re going to be the fastest Formula One cars ever, so I’m excited.”
As for how fast the Haas F1 car will be in particular, team principal Guenther Steiner is holding back from taking any guesses.
“We’re all in the same boat, waiting for Barcelona, and working hard to get there as best-prepared as we can and hope the other ones didn’t do as good a job as us,” he explains.
Fortunately, after having to build two cars from scratch for its first two seasons, Steiner knows the team will be more prepared for 2018.
“The 2017 car will be very similar to the 2018 car,” he adds, “whereas last year’s 2016 car has nothing to do with the 2017 car, it’s a completely different car base, so this year each time we make something new for the car it will also go for 2018.
“We haven’t made up our plan on when we start with development for the 2018 car, because we want to see first where we are at with this car. It depends a lot, so it’s too early to decide that.”
