Kevin Magnussen feels the Haas F1 Team’s first two-car top ten finish in the Monaco Grand Prix proves they are on the right track as the youngest team on the grid continues its learning in Formula 1.
The Dane finished tenth in Monaco despite an extra pit stop due to a puncture, while team-mate Romain Grosjean was eighth, and Magnussen feels proud of his team that they are becoming regular visitors to the points.
“Every race it’s visible that we’re growing as a team,” said Magnussen. “We’re getting more and more experience and, most importantly, we’re using that experience. I think it’s showing. We had the team’s first double-points finish this year. That shows the progress the team has made.
“I’m quite proud of the team and I’m really satisfied with our progress. It’s not that every race is going to be fantastic from now on, but it’s a good benchmark to get both cars in the points and show that we can do it.”
With tyre warm-up being a hot topic at present, Magnussen says that struggles to get them up to the correct temperature is common place, but once they are there the grip levels are where they should be.
He feels that the problems that faced everyone in Monaco shouldn’t be as bad this weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the Canadian Grand Prix, but there may still be some that find it tricky to get the tyres to work.
“The grip is there when the tyres are working,” said Magnussen. “It’s just that it’s pretty difficult to get them into the right window because they’re quite hard.
“Monaco was extreme because it’s a very low-speed track and tyre energies are very low, which makes it very hard to get the tyres working. Canada is going to be a little bit better, but still I think it’s going to be a challenge.
“It’s the same for everyone, but some people manage better than others, and that’s part of what we have to learn.”
