The
lacklustre Sergio Perez of last season has been replaced by Kevin Magnussen.
Magnussen is a 21-year-old Danish driver with a racing pedigree and a clear
skill for driving – evident from an early age. He participated in many racing
cups and championships as a youngster, though it was in 2012 that he began to
draw some serious attention – not least from the sporting director of McLaren –
and near the end of 2013 it was confirmed that Magnussen would be racing for
McLaren starting in the 2014 season.
He
is only young, but already Kevin Magnussen is proving to be a talented racing
driver. During testing in Bahrain he made the fastest lap – 1.5 seconds faster
than second best –and he achieved third place in his debut race in Melbourne
(raised to 2nd place afterwards with the disqualification of Daniel
Ricciardo). His driving was aggressive and determined, and yet he displayed the
sort of maturity you would expect from any top veteran driver.
Melbourne
was the first time McLaren has seen a driver on the podium since Jenson Button
won the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, and thanks to the disqualification Button
also achieved a podium place, making not one but two drivers on the
podium. It is only the first step of the
Championship, and there may have been a certain amount of luck involved, but
McLaren can certainly be proud of their initial lead over rivals Mercedes, Red
Bull, Williams and Ferrari. Added to the strong performance of Magnussen and
Button, the McLaren team also appeared to make all the right choices and
out-wit the other teams.
McLaren
has faced engineering problems over the last few seasons, and although their
latest motoring rendition is not the fastest car on the track, the strength and
consistency of their first race gives them a firm foundation to build on this
season. But for now it is all eyes on Kevin Magnussen.
