To explain about his potential we have a guest writer this time, Joshua Mason speaking about the Dane.
The Young Viking Returns
1000 years ago the Vikings crossed the seas to pillage our lands and create kingdoms of their own. While those barbaric times are over, the modern equivalent battles, of high end Sport, are experiencing the same thing. Kevin Magnussen of Denmark has returned to Formula 1 and after failing to impress Mercedes enough, he has been given a lifeline in the form of Renault’s return. Will they both benefit from each other’s returns; we hope to find out in 2016!
Renault’s return will be welcomed, as there always seems to be a more competitive edge to F1 when big manufacturers are involved. Kevin Magnussen’s return will be different in comparison. Most, including himself, view this as his last chance to become a great F1 driver. He will have to be calling on all his ancestral Viking courage to battle his way back. To put even more pressure on the young Dane, he is teaming up against a debutant in the form of exciting Brit Jolyon Palmer. Any poor performances against Palmers will be the nail in the coffin, and he will be constantly compared to his rookie colleague in 2016. Of course with his return after only one season, this feels like a second chance at his debut appearance since his unspectacular 2014.
Magnussen had fought up the usual route of Karting as a boy, and then rising up the Formula levels. A place on McLaren’s youth development scheme came and he eventually got his chance in 2014, replacing Sergio Perez. The season could not have got off to a better start. A 3rd place finish in Australia was bumped up to second, due to an engine irregularity from Daniel Ricciardo, making his second place the best by a rookie since Jaques Villeneuve in 1996.
The dream season was not to be however, the next best finish was a 5th place in Russia. 55 points was deemed not good enough for McLaren, and with Alonso available, they had no choice but to replace him. Magnussen’s career looked like it could be crashing and burning like an Anglo-Saxon house. A year on the sidelines must have been excruciating at McLaren, and when his opportunity came, when Alonso missed a race with concussion, in a 2015 McLaren, the engine failed and he must have felt it would never happen for him.
McLaren promised to help him achieve a driving seat this year, but when he lost out on a seat for Haas F1 to Grosjean and Gutierrez, it became apparent he was on his own. When Renault bought out Lotus, they probably planned on Maldonado as their experienced head, next to Palmer’s inexperience. Maldonado however, breached his contract and it seems Magnussen finally found some luck; he was in the right place at the right time for once and took the seat. He reportedly only signed the contract the day before Renaults launch.
Renault has decided to go back into F1, after realising the impact it can have on their brand. Having a successful or notable F1 team will be great marketing, and also lay trust with customers in their sporting ranges. They also hope that any advances in technology their F1 team will produce, will move to their manufacturing too. Renault will be hoping to fight for the constructors Championship in the future, tipsters at bookmakers.tv have said 2016 might be a step too soon. The French car giant will provide engines for Red Bull for one more season, but after this I am sure they will be looking to hold keep it to themselves, like the Ferrari model, and increase the focus on only helping the Renault.
Magnussen will have to find his inner-berserker when he starts the season in Australia. While he deserves another chance in my opinion, the seat he has found will complicate matters. His teammate is a rookie, and the team will be in its infancy in its second stab at F1. It is already not looking positive, with Magnussen tempering Renault’s expectations, saying it will take time for them to compete. This is not good PR, and already shows the Dane’s lack of confidence. But as you have read from this article on BadgerGP, his luck has been lacking and everything has gone against him so far. If he wanted more luck, I can’t help feeling he would have been better off as an Irishman, rather than a Danish Viking.
Written by Joshua Mason
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