McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen says he’s encouraged by Lewis Hamilton’s debut season with the Woking team, rather than daunted by the prospect of being compared to the 2008 champion.
Hamilton joined McLaren as a rookie in ’07 and went on to challenge for the title, eventually missing out by just a single point.
Magnussen believes that is proof that McLaren know what they’re doing to prepare and manage a driver during their debut season.
“The fact that Lewis did exactly what I’m doing now is a positive for me,” he admitted. “It shows that the team has been there before, and has already prepared a rookie for his grand prix debut.
“The fact that Lewis was so successful doesn’t raise the pressure for me, it just shows that it can be done, and that you can be successful as a rookie. That’s really encouraging.”
The Dane, who is just 21-years-old, also believes the new regulation changes will present a better opportunity for him to join on a level-playing field.
“It’ll be a new challenge for everyone, not just for me,” he added. “Everyone’s going to have to learn about the 2014 cars – not just myself.
“It’s a good year to come into F1. The fact that I won’t have as much experience as some of the other drivers actually counts a little bit less – of course, it’s still going to require a lot of hard work – and I’ll have a lot to learn – but so will everyone else, so that’s a positive for me.”
