Kevin Magnussen says cementing a more stable baseline in Formula 1 this season is the goal for Haas, as it enters its this year in the championship.
Haas joined Formula 1 at the start of 2016 but its performances have often fluctuated, sometimes heading the midfield pack, and at the rear of the field on other occasions, placing eighth in the standings in both campaigns.
Following the conclusion of his pre-season testing programme in the VF-18, Magnussen is hopeful that Haas can display the required consistency.
“Our goal for this year is to try and get much more consistency in the car,” said Magnussen.
“Occasionally last year we had a fast car, that was able to challenge for fourth place outside of the Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull. But we only did that two times.
“And the rest we were in the middle of the midfield. And sometimes at the back as well. So consistency is what we are looking for this year.
“I feel like we have made a better car than last year and we have a goal to improve on last year. We are on course to do that.”
The 2017/18 marked the first off-season in which Magnussen has remained as a race driver at the same team.
The Dane raced for McLaren in 2014, before stepping back to a reserve role in 2015, and returned to competitive action with Renault in 2016, after which he switched to Haas for 2017.
Magnussen believes the stability has enabled him to kick off the new campaign on a stronger footing.
“You feel at home from the beginning,” Magnussen explained.
“All the other winter testing [sessions] I have had was a lot of time spent getting to know the team and the way things are working, and the names of the systems that are being used in different engines. Getting to know everything.
“And now this year is different, I am hitting the ground running and don’t have to get into it as much as the other years.”
