Sidepodcast - All for F1 and F1 for all

Here's one I prepared earlier - Kevin Magnussen puts in the hours ahead of F1 debut

Published by Christine

Kevin Magnussen puts in the hours ahead of F1 debut
McLaren Mercedes

McLaren's new driver for 2014, Kevin Magnussen, should head to Australia as the best prepared rookie this season. After three full weeks of testing, he finished with over 2,400 kilometres, which is more than double his fellow new drivers. Daniil Kvyat and Marcus Ericsson both struggled in Renault powered cars, and between them completed just over 2,000km.

Whilst we know pace during testing isn't hugely reliable, Magnussen's fastest time was less than a tenth of a second off his teammate's, and he was sixth fastest of the two weeks in Bahrain. The new driver only brought out two red flags during the pre-season testing, whereas his rookie compatriots had three each.

These stats don't mean anything specific for the year ahead, but they put Kevin in good shape going into the 2014 season. The Dane is, understandably, excited for his first year in Formula One, but is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

"We know we have a lot of work left to do, but we have a good basis from which to go forward. We know where the car is strong, and where there’s more work left to do – and we’re addressing those areas. But I’ve said it all along: the car is driveable and predictable; it does what we ask it to do, which is a positive."