The pressure in Formula 1 was “horrendous”.

(Motorsport-Total.com) – For Kevin Magnussen, Formula 1 has change into “simpler to take pleasure in” since returning in 2022 after a one-year hiatus. Dania admitted that her earlier recruitment had put her below pressure which she felt was “horrendous”.

Magnussen’s Formula One profession ended on the finish of the 2020 season when Haas fired him, prompting him to proceed racing in sports activities automobile racing in the United States.

But after Nikita Mazepin’s contract was minimize quick following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Magnussen returned to Haas on a multi-year deal. The Dane completed fifth in the comeback race in Bahrain and took his first pole in Brazil on the finish of the 12 months.

“Being a Formula 1 world champion is now not the very last thing”

Haas crew principal Gunther Steiner not too long ago stated he believes Magnussen is “a lot stronger mentally” after his return to Formula 1, partly attributable to his additional expertise and fatherhood throughout the sabbatical.

Magnussen himself now feels that his personal expectations and private pressures have decreased, resulting in a change in his mindset: “The greatest pressure is my very own expectations,” he explains.

“From a younger age, I believed life was all about Formula 1 and reaching the highest of the game. I believed being Formula 1 world champion was the largest factor I may obtain in life, and now I perceive. It’s not.”

“It took a number of the pressure off me and it was a extremely good factor. Now I take pleasure in Formula 1 extra. When I had the previous perspective, it was at all times very scary to be right here as a result of that is what I did. I’m fortunate if I do not succeed in the game I was afraid that I would not be capable to, after all, it is a large pressure.”

Magnussen: As a father, you may be even quicker!

“Then there’s pressure from others. “This sport is a really troublesome competitors in some ways,” he provides. “So I believe it has been actually optimistic for me. I’ve heard lots of people joke that being a father is one or two out of ten, nevertheless it’s positively not. I believe it is the opposite approach round.”

Magnussen made his Formula 1 debut for McLaren in 2014 and was heralded as the subsequent star of the youth program after a podium end on his Australian debut and initially believed he may problem for the championship earlier than McLaren turned uncompetitive.

But he was dropped from the crew after one season after which spent a 12 months at Renault earlier than becoming a member of Haas alongside Romain Grosjean in 2017. He admitted that he now “simply enjoys Formula 1” and that his “love for the game is prospering now as a result of there’s nothing to deliver him down”.

“I haven’t got such a giant burden on my shoulders anymore,” says Magnussen. “Of course, folks nonetheless have excessive hopes and ambitions for me, however all the pieces is totally different. Everything is sweet and so forth. I’m blissful.”