Despite a disappointing Qualifying display on Saturday, Kevin Magnussen feels points are a possibility for the Haas F1 Team in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, even from fifteenth on the grid.
For the second consecutive race weekend, the Dane was eliminated from Qualifying at the second hurdle, but he came through to score a point in China, and although he will start the race four positions lower this weekend around the Baku Street Circuit, he feels the nature of the track offers opportunities to make gains, both from overtaking and from other drivers making errors.
Magnussen insists Haas should not write off their race weekend just because they had no luck in Qualifying, and he still believes he can add to his points tally on Sunday.
“It could’ve been better, but we didn’t have much luck today,” said Magnussen. “I think P15 is still a position we can fight back from – it’s not too far from the points.
“I’m still positive for tomorrow. There are opportunities. It doesn’t take a big mistake for you to go straight on here at the corners. You can gain a position, for sure, if someone ahead does that.
“We shouldn’t write off the race. We’ll keep focused and, hopefully, have a good race for tomorrow. I think it’s a really cool circuit and it’s good fun to drive. It has a good layout for racing and for slipstreaming down that long straight. It offers opportunities for a good race.”
