Perhaps it’s only fair to say that one of the best things about Formula 1 is that it is a great leveller of life. Not only is the sport not always about the ‘usual frontrunner’ bagging the goods; it’s also about unprecedented occurrences one of which was evident at the conclusion of the 2022 Brazilian GP qualifying.
Anyone who came to Brazil this year would certainly have known that the weekend was pretty much about the icon Sir Lewis Hamilton in lines with the mural dedicated to the 7-time world champion.
But that’s not all that happened at Sao Paulo. It would later turn out that Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, arguably one of the most talented drivers from all of Denmark, had different plans in mind.
In clocking a magnificent 1:11:674, Kevin Magnussen spoiled the plans of perhaps every single frontrunner (whether Red Bull, Mercedes or Ferrari as has been the case) out here in Senna-land who may have thought that they were in it to win it.
Which is why it’s fair and maybe not disrespectful to say that not every Formula 1 Grand Prix is going to have a Max, Perez, Carlos, George or Charles as the pole sitter.
There are others too on the grid who’ll come and conquer when one least expects them to, which is precisely what K-Mag did!
In a result that does read like a magic spell for the American Formula 1 team, the following is what Kevin Magnussen had to say:
I don’t know what to say,” said a beaming Dane, who added: “The team put me out in the perfect position, did a pretty decent lap and we are on pole! It’s incredible, thank you.”
“I want to say thank you to Gene Haas, Guenther and the whole team for taking me back on and giving me the opportunity to have a day like this – I’m so chuffed. The team put me out in the pitlane as the first car and that was the gamechanger. It gave me the best piece of track as it started to rain and we got pole. It was the longest minute of my life trying to stay calm as it looked like it was going to be wet but you never know. I’m so happy.”
For someone who actually had little going for him, considering all that the noted Dane scored in the 2020 Formula 1 season was a solitary point, it’s little surprising that Kevin Magnussen is earning rich praise in the aftermath of his Brazil brilliance.
That being said, here’s what noted Formula 1 publication F1 Chronicle had to say:
Magnussen, who left F1 in 2021 after being dropped by cash-strapped Haas, made a sensational return to the sport when the American team sacked Nikita Mazepin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Danish driver scored a memorable fifth place at the opening round of the season for Haas, who had scored no points in 2021 with rookie pair Mick Schumacher and Mazepin.
And now Magnussen’s season is crowned with his best F1 achievement to date, having beaten World Champion Max Verstappen to the pole.