Aston Martin had a challenging start to the pre-season with Lance Stroll ruled out of testing and reserve driver Felipe Drugovich coming to a halt on the AMR23’s first run. However, matters improved with a series of reliable stints and eye-catching times.
New Aston Martin signing Fernando Alonso finished second to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on the first day of running, which led Haas driver Magnussen to express his admiration for the team. Magnussen referred to Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes as the expected front-runners, but identified Aston Martin, which finished seventh in last year’s constructors’ standings, as a potential big mover.
“I think it’s the usual suspects at the front. Maybe Aston Martin looked really impressive these three days. I think they may have taken a big step,” said Magnussen.
Regarding Haas, Magnussen, who finished seventh on the combined testing timesheets, expressed confidence in the team’s progress: “We put a soft tyre on the car at the end there and did a bit of a qualifying simulation and it actually felt good, and I think the lap time we did looks like it’s still in the midfield somewhere, so that’s a good starting point.”
Magnussen continued, “It’s going to be exciting to see how we actually go in qualifying next Saturday, and then of course the big test is in the race on Sunday.”
