Kevin Magnussen has given credit to his former Haas F1 Team team-mate Romain Grosjean for making him a better driver in Qualifying, with the Dane believing there are few drivers as quick over one lap than the Frenchman.
Both Magnussen and Grosjean are leaving Haas at the end of the 2020 season after four and five years with the American squad respectively, with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin coming in to replace them.
However, Magnussen leaves the team and, for now at least, Formula 1 as a better driver in Qualifying, something he puts down to Grosjean and how fast he needed to be to beat the French driver over one lap.
“I think what I experienced with Romain is an incredibly fast driver on one lap, not that he’s not quick in the race, he’s super quick in the race as well, but especially in one lap, he is something special,” Magnussen is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com.
“I think having him as a benchmark, especially in qualifying, has really made me a better qualifier. You seriously need to get it right to beat Romain in qualifying.
“It’s hard to imagine that anyone can be much quicker than him, because on his day, he is phenomenal on one lap.”
Magnussen believes Grosjean’s talent behind the wheel is often overlooked due to the mistakes the Frenchman made, with the Dane believing he deserves more respect and credit for his speed and ability behind the wheel.
“I think F1, it’s funny, because Romain has made some mistakes in the last few years that have gained a lot of attention, and I think taken away from him some of the credit he should have been given for his abilities in the car,” said Magnussen.
“I think my personal feeling is that there’s not a lot of people that can be faster than him on one lap.”
