Kevin Magnussen believes that Haas teammate Mick Schumacher "definitely deserves" a place on the F1 grid amid uncertainty over his future. While Magnussen will remain with the team in 2023 after signing a multi-year contract, it has not yet been confirmed who will race alongside him, with Schumacher thought to be facing competition for his seat from the likes of Nico Hulkenberg. Schumacher had a difficult start to the 2022 campaign, leading team owner Gene Haas to state recently that the 23-year-old "costs a fortune" due to the number of crashes he has experienced . Despite this, Magnussen thinks that there have been clear signs of improvement from Schumacher as the year has progressed.
Magnussen says Schumacher has been "hard to beat"
"First of all, I haven't had any influence on what's been going on with the drivers – that's totally out of my hands," Magnussen told media, including RacingNews365.com , ahead of the United States Grand Prix. "If I just look at Mick, I think he has been really improving over the year. He started off maybe not really liking the car and lacking a bit of confidence, but he's really gained that and lately he's been super hard to beat for me. "I think the way he's driving right now, he definitely deserves a place on the grid. But again, [it's] totally out of my hands and I can only sort of just wish him well."
What can Haas achieve at their home event?
The US Grand Prix marks one of Haas' home races, and Magnussen is hopeful that the team can perform well at the Circuit of The Americas. "I think we generally are more happy with high downforce tracks and this is a high downforce track, so hopefully we can be a bit more competitive," the Dane said. "I think lately some of the other teams have kind of moved ahead of us in terms of outright performance, but that doesn't mean we can't fight them and have a chance against them." Haas currently sit P8 in the Constructors' Championship with 34 points, putting them on equal footing with AlphaTauri in P9 while Aston Martin have an 11-point advantage in P7. Magnussen expects this battle amongst the teams to go down to the wire. "It's very tight in terms of points to these guys," the Dane added. "Even the next position up, P7, is, if you just look at the points, it's not so much but it's so hard for us to score points at the moment. "It is going to be tough, but we're going to do our best, of course."
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