Kevin Magnussen says it’s not guaranteed that the Haas F1 Team will be strong at the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix as the Dane looks to put the disappointment of Australia in his rear view mirror.
Magnussen was on for his best result in Formula 1 since his second place finish at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix when a botched pit-stop saw him retire from 2018’s opening race.
Now, Magnussen is looking to refocus and rebound in Bahrain but insists that it isn’t a given that Haas will continue their impressive form.
“We try to refocus and look forward to the next one,” says Magnussen. “We take the positives that we can from Australia, which is we have a good car. The team take that forward to Bahrain.”
“We win together and we lose together. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes – we have to make room for that – but we’ll learn from that and improve together.”
“It was good to have a competitive car in Australia. I enjoyed driving the car all weekend, but there’s no guarantee we’ll be that strong in Bahrain, so we have to work hard to try and understand the car and make sure we carry the performance forward into the next race.”
Before Magnussen’s retirement in Australia – a fate shared by team-mate Romain Grosjean – Haas looked set for their best ever result in Formula 1. The American team comfortably led the competitive mid-field but the final result means they now lag behind their rivals.
“It would be great to have a good result in Bahrain after such big disappointment in Australia,” Magnussen added. “We’ve got to start building points, as we’ve fallen behind after Australia. We’ve got to catch up.”
As for the race in Bahrain, Magnussen believes that fans will be treated to a far more exciting race than that which came under criticism in Australia.
“Bahrain is a much better circuit for overtaking than Australia. I don’t think we’re going to have as many negative comments about a boring race in Bahrain because the track layout is a lot better for racing and overtaking.
“I’m sure we’ll see an exciting grand prix.”
“Bahrain is a challenging circuit. There are good opportunities for overtaking and close racing.”
