Giedo van der Garde applauded Kevin Magnussen’s return to Formula 1 motorsport in 2022 after the Dane took a year off.
After the Dane missed the 2021 season, Giedo van der Garde welcomed Kevin Magnussen’s return to Formula 1.
The comeback of Magnussen, who was dismissed at the end of 2020 as one of Haas’ lineup rearrangement, was one of the year’s major stories.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prior to the beginning of the 2022 season, Nikita Mazepin’s Haas contract was terminated, and Magnussen was hired back to compete with Mick Schumacher.
Giedo van der Garde, a previous Formula One racer who competed for Caterham from 2012 to 2013, was delighted with Magnussen’s return, which started with a fifth-place finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
At the Brazilian Grand Prix later in the year, Magnussen made history by securing the first pole position for Haas.
Van Der Garde told Viaplay in an interview, “The comeback was so spectacular.”
“I was racing with him last year in LMP2 at Le Mans, and suddenly he came back as a race driver in F1.”
Van Der Garde: Magnussen was “completely dead after two days of testing”
Van Der Garde competes in LMP2 with Team Netherlands in addition to his responsibilities as an F1 commentator.
The Dane struggled after the early testing with Haas since he was not at the health standard needed for F1 motorsport, the Dutch racer recalls from the beginning of the season when Magnussen was competing in the same category.
“I still remember the evening tests that he was doing alone with Haas, they were doing really spectacular lap times. I was texting with him and suddenly he was completely dead after two days of testing, because if you come from LMP to F1 car the difference is huge” he continued.
“So he was not fit anymore, he did the race at Daytona, we went in the evening to the McDonald’s, so he was a little bit too chubby as well!
“But to be honest when he jumped in, he was really, really impressive. And in the first few races he did were unbelievable.”
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