Kevin Magnussen has revealed that the most difficult aspect of his return to Formula 1 has been dealing with his neck problems. Less than two weeks before the start of the 2022 season, it was announced that Magnussen would be making a surprise return to the Haas team to replace the recently ousted Nikita Mazepin. The Danish driver - who last competed in the sport in 2020 - impressed upon his comeback, having finished the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in fifth place. There was another points result in Saudi Arabia with a P9, but Magnussen admitted that he had struggled more physically on this occasion due to his neck feeling like it had "broke" following Saturday's qualifying.
Magnussen admits F1 return has been tough on neck
Having been away from F1 for a year, Magnussen was asked on the F1 Nation podcast about the hardest thing to readjust to from a driving perspective. "There's not really anything hard to get used to, it's more [that] the hardest thing [to deal with] has been my neck," the driver explained. "Because you can't really train your neck. You can train your neck, but it doesn't get you fit to drive an F1 car. "You can do all the training you want on your neck, and I've done that in the past, and you get in the car, and it just hasn't made any difference. You're still completely messed up after the first day in the car. "So getting back [to that in] these first two races have been quite tough on the neck."
F1 cars haven't become more physical, says Magnussen
Formula 1 cars have been through some big changes since Magnussen last competed, given the range of new technical regulations that came into effect for the 2022 campaign. However, Magnussen does not think that the latest generation are more physical to drive than the previous version. "Thankfully not," he said when quizzed on the topic. "They're a little less physical, because the corner speeds are a little slower, and that just helps. It's not a lot slower, it's only a little bit, and that just helps. "I'm glad I'm not getting in one of the old ones!"
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