Kevin Magnussen struggled at instances all through final season to get as a lot out of the workforce’s 2023 challenger as team-mate Nico Hulkenberg as a result of its traits didn’t go well with his type.
His desire to hold velocity by way of a nook, which calls for a automotive handles effectively the transition from braking on the strategy and turn-in, was not one thing that the Haas VF-23 was good at.
As a substitute, it misplaced stability when requested to make use of braking and rotational forces on the similar time. This made it higher for drivers like Hulkenberg, who’ve what’s often known as a V-style strategy – the place they brake extra in a straight line, flip sharply after which speed up out.
As Magnussen mentioned on the time: “You’ll be able to’t actually mix Gs a lot with these vehicles. You must V the corners extra. And that is the 2 completely different driving types: V-style or not.
“There’s many various variations of those two, however in broad phrases that is what I discover, and this 12 months’s automotive on our aspect is much more weak like that.”
Haas has spent the winter attempting to handle the problems it confronted final 12 months, and new workforce boss Komatsu believes that Magnussen ought to really feel enhancements to assist carry his kind.
“I wouldn’t say eradicated, that’s an enormous phrase,” he mentioned when requested concerning the issues that Magnussen confronted final 12 months. “However actually, we’ve got improved on it.
“He’s a driver who wants good entry stability and constant [handling] by way of a nook.”
Picture by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Photographs
Ayao Komatsu and Kevin Magnussen on the grid final 12 months
Komatsu says he has a very good working relationship with each of Haas’s F1 drivers, and reckoned that they might make good progress collectively in the event that they stayed sincere with one another.
“Clearly, I’ve recognized Kevin [Magnussen] for some years,” he mentioned. “Nico [Hulkenberg], I actually loved working with him final 12 months. I didn’t know him earlier than.
“Though truly, once I was working with Lotus, he got here for a seat match – I can’t keep in mind which 12 months – and he remembered that as effectively.
“They each know that I’m fairly easy. I say what I believe. Not being aggressive or something, however no bullshit, it’s simply that we haven’t received time to waste.
“They know precisely the place I’m then, the place they’re, and we work effectively collectively. By way of our strengths and weaknesses, we perceive one another fairly effectively. We’ve received a very good open and clear dialogue, so I’m proud of that.”
