Kevin Magnussen was happy to get some decent amount of running in on the final day of the first pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with the Haas F1 Team racer ending up fourth fastest.
The Dane completed ninety-six laps on Thursday, bringing the total for the team to one hundred and eighty-seven across the four days, thanks to the earlier days being heavily affected by low temperatures and extreme weather conditions.
Magnussen hopes to get some more good work done during next weeks second test at the same venue, but he is happy with the data the VF-18 has been providing so far in Spain.
“It was a very good day,” said Magnussen. “We got a lot of laps and, finally, the weather decided to behave.
“It was nice to feel the car and get the first touch of the car’s balance and performance. I’m looking forward to continuing the work next week. We’re happy with what we’re seeing and we have something to work with.”
Team principal Guenther Steiner felt it was a solid day in Spain as temperatures finally rose into double figures, and the running allowed the team to find out more about the strengths and weaknesses of their 2018 machine.
“A solid day. I think it’s a good end to a difficult testing session,” said Steiner. “The first few days were compromised by the weather, but today we got 96 laps in.
“We made some progress and we understand the car a little bit better. Next week we need to start from where we are now, get better, and then work toward being ready for Australia.”
