Haas F1 Team driver Kevin Magnussen left the 2017 Belgian Grand Prix frustrated that he was unable to convert the pace he had into points.
The Danish driver finished the race in fifteenth place, missing out on a points finish after he made a poor restart from behind the safety car. His team-mate, Romain Grosjean, had a strong race and crossed the line in seventh place.
“I just locked up both tyres with cold brakes, cold tyres, into the last corner at the safety-car restart,” commented Magnussen.
“It was my bad and I’m really sorry for the team. It could’ve been a double-points finish for us this weekend. I just have to push harder next week to make up for it.”
Magnussen believes that without his mistake at the restart, he would have been able to fight with Williams Martini Racing driver Felipe Massa, who recovered from being knocked out in Q1 to finish the race in eighth.
“Obviously, I’m at least happy that we scored points with Romain, but it’s hard to swallow right now,” said Magnussen.
“We’ll be there again next week. I think I would’ve had a good fight with (Felipe) Massa, for sure. I was faster than him on the stint before the safety car. I think we would’ve been fighting with him, but it didn’t happen and I’m really frustrated with that. I think we could’ve had a pretty easy double-points finish with both cars. I’m really annoyed.”
There isn’t time to dwell on the race for Magnussen or the team, as the Formula One circus moves straight from Spa to Monza in back-to-back race weekends.
“The car’s been working reasonably well this weekend. It’s a high-speed track and the next one we visit is as well. Hopefully, we can be strong again. It’s always frustrating when you miss out, and I think we did today.”
