Magnussen encouraged by easier communication

Kevin Magnussen has spoken positively about what he feels is a very clear management layout at his new team Haas F1, which he says makes communication much simpler than it was during his single-season stints at the bigger Renault and McLaren teams.

His first two days of running with the American squad allowed him to complete 169 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya, and following these he was very complimentary of his new team and bosses.

"It's a very small team, it has an owner, then a team boss, and that's the management," he said in reference to owner Gene Haas and team principal Guenther Steiner. "There are more people (at the team) but Gene and Guenther work well together and it's got very clear roles which is good for any team.

"Being a small team means there's a lot of positives, we can react quicker, communication is easier. It's going to be interesting to see how it is to work when we start the season properly; so far it's been a great experience."

Magnussen also believes that Haas' impressive debut season in 2016 - in which they scored a total of 29 points - has boosted its confidence heading into 2017, due to the experience they now have.

"They had a great season last year where they learned a lot and did really well with not much experience at all," he added.

"So they feel quite confident because now they have one season that they can bank on, and use a lot of information they didn't have in the first season. You can feel the team is using that information well. Even though it's a completely new (era), because the cars are so different, there's still a lot of things they've learned operational-wise."

Mason Hawker