IMSA WeatherTech Series makes former F1 driver Kevin Magnussen smile again

Kevin Magnussen spent the 2020 racing season in Formula 1, telling anyone who asked no, he didn’t enjoy banging his head every race weekend.

The role of the back marker in Formula 1 – the largest racing stage in the world – made Magnussen and teammate Romain Grosjean dream of the old days when they both tore up the track and won races at lower levels. Running with the Haas F1 Team, a six-year-old Formula 1 team that has not yet put a driver on a podium, had taken its toll.

Both Magnussen and Grosjean were sacked after the 2020 season, and both racers left F1 with the promise of winning races again, being on the podium, winning pole and smiling again. So far the mission has been accomplished.

Kevin Magnussen won a pole in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Friday at Belle Isle, Detroit. It was his first career pole in the series and he came in the Cadillac DPi No. 01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing with teammate Renger van der Zande.

It was the first overall pole for Ganassi in the IMSA series since Scott Pruett won pole at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas in 2015, and the first class pole for Ganassi in IMSA since Sebastian Bourdais’ pole in Mid-Ohio in 2019.

And yes, Magnussen smiled ear to ear in Detroit on Friday.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may find the same content in a different format or more information on their website.

“Formula 1 is great. It’s fun to drive the cars, but at the end of the day you want to be good at everything you do, ”said Magnussen. “Regardless of whether it’s Formula 1 or rental go-karts. You want to win. It’s all about this.

“When I came here, when I signed up with Chip Ganassi, I knew I had a chance to win races. We haven’t done that yet, but we are leading and fighting for victory. It was more fun as “everything I’ve done in the past few years.”

This weekend in Detroit, Magnussen also gave the chance to catch up with former Haas F1 team-mate Grosjean. Grosjean is competing in the NTT IndyCar Series race on Belle Isle this weekend.

“It was great to see him,” said Magnussen. “The last time I saw him in the hospital after his accident in Bahrain, it was good to see him out there.”

It was also an opportunity for the two drivers to share stories about the good things that are happening in their racing careers these days.

“I won a pole position and he was on the podium,” Magnussen told Autoweek. “I always knew he was a great talent. It’s good to see him show that in IndyCar. I’ll be following him this weekend. It will be fun to see him live in IndyCar.”

“I feel very privileged and blessed to be in Formula 1 and have a career in Formula 1, but like I said, when you know that you are not on the hunt for victories or even on the podium, in the end it doesn’t matter what it is. I just missed racing to win. That year, the feeling of racing, reminds me a little of what it was like before Formula 1.

“I kind of missed that feeling.”

Former Haas F1 team driver Kevin Magnussen celebrates his first IMSA pole on Friday at Belle Isle in Detroit.

Michael Levite

28-year-old Magnussen, son of multiple IMSA and American Le Mans Series champion Jan Magnussen, knows that he will likely always be identified with his racing chapter in Formula 1, which lasted from 2014 to 2020. Kevin’s only Formula 1 podium came with a second place finish in Australia in 2014 – in his very first of 119 careers.

Would he ever consider returning to F1?

“If I had a Mercedes or a Red Bull, I wouldn’t say no,” he said. “I don’t think a lot of racing drivers would do that, but that won’t happen. As I said before, I’m very, very happy with the chance I had in Formula 1. Not many people have that many years in that Formula Formula 1.

“I’m super happy about that and I’ve had great experiences. Nevertheless, I feel fresh motivation and it’s fun again.”

This content is imported from Twitter. You may find the same content in a different format or more information on their website.

Magnussen is still keeping an eye on Formula 1 and is even doing some racing analysis for television this season. He also keeps a sweet spot in his heart for his brothers in Haas, where he worked from 2017-20. Haas is also the last in Formula 1 this season.

“I sympathize with them,” he said. “They are great people. I have a lot of friends and they are kind of family to me, so I feel for them. But I’m sure they will get better when these new rules come into effect (2023). Basically all teams will be reset there. Of course the big teams will still be at the top, but I hope it will be a bit tighter. “

Nowadays Magnussen calls Chip Ganassi “Chef”.

“Chip is kind of a legend in motorsport, especially in North America,” said Magnussen. “It is a great privilege to be in this great championship with Chip Ganassi and the factory-supported Cadillac.”

A championship, Magnussen added, he enjoys the challenge of driving in a series that has tracks that may not be – OK, they’re not as smooth as the F1 tracks he’s used to. Detroit’s Belle Isle street circuit definitely caught his attention on Friday.

“With all the tracks we go, I’m blown away by how old-fashioned it is and how fun it is to drive,” he said. “I’m having a great time.

“It’s more fun and the consequences are bigger. I’m usually used to the fact that there is a huge drain in every major braking zone on the road. There’s a wall out here at 90 degree seat belts and move your brake lights. “

When asked to compare the cars, Magnussen said there really was no comparison.

“It’s almost a different sport,” he said. “The principles are the same at the end of the day. The Formula 1 car is very optimized. There are many things that can be optimized in a Formula 1 car. Even the slowest Formula 1 car drives very well and is actually pretty easy to drive because it doesn’t do anything unexpected.

“When you get into a car like the DPi, it’s a bit of a simpler technology, it’s a heavier car. It’s just more of a challenge because it bites you a little sometimes. It’s harder to be fast in DPi. You have traction control in the DPI, which is of course a help, but also something that changes the driving style and takes getting used to after so many years in Formula 1. “

“Compared to Formula 1, IMSA has a completely different atmosphere.”

The cars and tracks are the only differences.

“IMSA is a completely different atmosphere compared to Formula 1,” he said. “Everyone over here seems to be smiling a little more and being a little friendlier to one another. It’s fiercely competitive, but a little more relaxed.”

Magnussen also took the time to say hello to those who think the popular Netflix series Drive to Survive projected an accurate depiction of the relationship between him and Grosjean during their days with Haas. Although they weren’t best friends, the relationship wasn’t atypical for many teammates in Formula 1.

“In the beginning we were very competitive,” he said. “We fought to show ourselves. Formula 1 is a very tough place. You have to beat your teammate. That’s all you can do to move forward and show yourself to bigger teams. It creates a very special environment within of the team, it’s much more divided (in F1).

“You just focus on beating your team-mate. It’s difficult to be very good friends in this sport. Towards the end, when both were fed up with the situation, we stuck together.”

Now they are back to rooting for each other.

And smiles again.

This content is created and maintained by a third party and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may find more information on this and similar content at piano.io