Haas’ Kevin Magnussen thinks that the hydraulic issue in his car prevented him from challenging for an even higher place on the grid.
Kevin Magnussen had his first weekend out in the Haas and it played out quite satisfactory for him and the team. He returned to the sport and placed himself seventh in his first qualifying of the season.
In the past two years, Haas remained at the back of the grid. With Magnussen’s comeback, this might be the year that the team returns to form.
Magnussen faced a hydraulic issue in his car during the qualifying and which is why he could only do one qualifying run in both Q2 and Q3 sessions.
The Danish driver said, “We had a suspicion that it might be quite good. We did not even know if we could get out again in Q3, so getting P7 for tomorrow’s race, after all, that is really cool.”
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Kevin Magnussen and his nightmare scenario in the garage
Because of the hydraulic issue, Magnussen had to drive the cars while staying within limits. He explained that he had to sit in the grade for the second half of the Q2 and watch. He described it as a nightmare as he could not get on the track to respond to other drivers’ laps.
Magnussen said, “It was a hydraulic leak that we discovered; [the mechanics] did a fix, but they only just managed to get it done for the last run [in Q3].”
“We discovered it after the first run in Q2, and we weren’t able to go out again. I was sitting there in the car, while they were fixing it, hoping that no one would improve too much.”
“We went through into Q3, and then [I was] still hoping that they would get it fixed in time for just one lap in Q3 at the end, which they did!”
Furthermore, Magnussen believes that he could have done better if he had not been facing the issue with the car.
“I was having to stay in one gear, in fourth gear, for the whole of the out lap,” he commented.
“I wasn’t able to go quick on the out lap and get my tyres right, so I was compromised in a few places, but it’s still P7, so we’re super happy.
“We did a 1:31.4 in Q2 in the first run, and we didn’t get two runs in Q2, so you would think that there could be a little more in it.”
“Reliability is certainly the biggest concern going into tomorrow’s race. It’s not so much pace, balance, tyre wear or strategy, it’s more just getting to the end. And, if we get to the end, I’m sure we will be able to finish in a strong position.”
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