Guenther Steiner has dismissed suggestions that Kevin Magnussen was re-signed by Haas for sentimental reasons.
Despite a difficult season for Haas, and Magnussen especially as he has scored just two points from the 13 grands prix to date, the F1 team opted to keep faith with the Danish driver and team-mate Nico Hulkenberg for 2024.
At the time, Steiner stated at the time “there was no reason to look to change”, and that Magnussen was “a very well-known quantity” to the team.
The latter remark hinted at the possibility Magnussen was retained for nostalgic reasons given his faith and loyalty to the team over the years, even opting to return in 2022 when given the chance after being axed at the end of 2020.
Suggested to Steiner that keeping faith with Magnussen was a sentimental decision, he said: “Do you think I’m sentimental? No, it is not sentimental.”
Readily acknowledging Magnussen “at the moment is not in the best phase of his career”, he added “But sometimes, you know we are not performing and we understand where he is at. He has no confidence in the car. He’s in a bad spot.
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“He is keeping upbeat about it, and as I’ve said, changing the driver would not make us better at the moment.
“Obviously, Nico is doing a fantastic job and we are amazed at how he does it. I don’t know.
“I think once we get the car to Kevin’s liking, which means a stable car, not one lap is this, one lap is something else, even at the back where he is, that is why we kept him because we believe in him.
“He was with us when we were in the bad days, and sometimes you cannot overreact. We want to give him a chance.
“It is nothing to do with nostalgia or sentiment.”
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