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Magnussen's confidence aiding consistency - Haas
Haas Formula 1 team principal Gunther Steiner believes Kevin Magnussen's growing confidence in his second season with the team has allowed him to improve his consistency.
Edd Straw
Edited: Apr 23, 2018, 10:56 AM
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Magnussen has scored points in two of the three F1 races so far this season, and was on target to finish fourth in the Australian Grand Prix before being released from his pitstop with the left-rear wheel not properly attached.
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This is the first time Magnussen has scored points in back-to-back races since the United States and Brazilian GPs at the end of his first F1 season with McLaren in 2014.
Steiner believes this confidence allows Magnussen to recover from any difficult times quickly and return to his best form.
"It's too early to say it's a successful season and there will be weekends where there will be something that he doesn't perform as he could," Steiner told Motorsport.com
"We all have this, any driver has a weekend where you are not as good as you should be.
"As long as you can get up, if you have collected enough confidence in yourself, if you have a bad weekend you can just ignore it.
"Then the next one, you come back even stronger and he can make that step this year.
"I think he can achieve this because he's banked a lot of confidence at the moment, he's tanking - filling up with it."
Steiner believes Magnussen's upward curve began in 2017 following his move to Haas after a season with Renault.
He suggests the competitiveness of Haas's car in 2018 has helped Magnussen to click into top form.
"I think the trend started last year," said Steiner. "It's a personal confidence that he trusts the team, he trusts himself.
"We all know he has got talent, it's just how to get it out. With the ups and downs in his career, he sometimes lost a bit of confidence and it started to come back last year.
"This year, starting with a competitive car, that gave him that click where he's a lot more confident than he was before."
Magnussen says he is comfortable in the Haas environment, which helps him to perform.
"It has always been a good feeling with this team," Magnussen told Motorsport.com.
"Haas really support their drivers, both Gene [Haas, team owner] and Gunther are always behind the drivers.
"It's a team that loves to go racing, so they appreciate when you try hard."
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