Kevin Magnussen will make his third Monaco Grand Prix start for a third different team this weekend, and he will be looking to fight back after losing a certain points finish in the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago thanks to a late race puncture.
The Haas F1 Team driver, who has raced around the streets of Monaco for the McLaren F1 Team in 2014 and the Renault Sport Formula 1 Team last season, feels the updated wider 2017 cars will add an extra element of fun to driving between the barriers this year, and he will be looking for a strong qualifying display in order to have a strong race.
“Monaco is the most iconic race of the season,” said Magnussen. “It’s also one of the most fun tracks to drive. It’s really challenging, especially with this new, faster car. I’m sure it’s going to be even more fun this year.
“It’s pretty difficult to race and it’s nearly impossible to overtake. You can only overtake if the guy in front of you makes a big mistake, really. At least with these big cars, I think it’ll be a bit like that. Qualifying will be very important.”
Magnussen feels that the tyres being brought to Monaco by Pirelli are all likely to be too hard for the track, even the Ultrasoft, which made it’s race debut in Monaco back in 2016.
“In Monaco, even the Ultrasoft is going to be too hard,” said Magnussen. “We kind of need a mega-Ultrasoft tire for that race. It’s not there, so we have to make do with the Ultrasoft.
“For sure, the soft is not going to be much use – even the Supersoft will be way too hard.”