Whilst Ferrari earned a one-two at the Bahrain Grand Prix, it was perhaps Kevin Magnussen in the Haas that had the best weekend of all, as the Dane returned to Formula 1 and sealed a 5th-place finish in the process.

Magnussen's F1 career had looked to be well and truly over at the end of 2020.

He and Romain Grosjean moved on from the sport and 2021 saw the fresh faces of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin swept in, though they were up against it from the off with Haas deciding they'd focus fully on developing their 2022 car rather than making many tweaks to their 2021 model.

That decision needed to pay off this season, then, and it certainly looks as though it has with Magnussen earning a fifth place on Sunday in Bahrain and Mick Schumacher also looking competitive as he finished just outside the top 10.

Magnussen, only brought back by Haas after Mazepin's removal due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has been thrust back into the F1 limelight, then, but he certainly shone as he recorded great points for the team, and he could not hide his delight at how things played out on Sunday:

“This craziness just continues.

“We had a really good race, the car was good all the way through – we had a little more degradation than we had hoped for on the first set [of tyres].

“I also got passed a few people that were faster than me, so I didn’t really know whether to try and keep them behind or to kind of let them go, and I also locked up a little bit.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 20: Kevin Magnussen of Denmark driving the (20) Haas F1 VF-22 Ferrari during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 20, 2022 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

“That first stint maybe wasn’t perfect but then from there, even though we pitted earlier than planned, we kind of extended that second stint on the same tyre, extended it to get back on plan, then had a Safety Car at the end that put us and everyone on the same tyre and just a sprint race to the end, which was intense.

“Obviously, a bit of luck there at the end with the two Red Bulls but we will take that.”

“I can’t wait for the rest of the year, I just want to keep going.”

It really is a feel-good story, and few would begrudge Magnussen, Haas and Schumacher more strong results for the rest of the season.