Kevin Magnussen is hopeful that the Haas F1 Team can make up time on Saturday and be in the mix in the midfield for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Magnussen looked on course for a top five finish in Australia before issues in his pit stop forced him to retire but the Dane was unsure of if the Haas will be as good around the Bahrain International Circuit.
“We’ve had a bit of a tricky Friday, but the car didn’t feel bad,” said Magnussen. “There’s lots to learn about the tyres, though.”
Bahrain is the first race at night of the season meaning there is a greater difference between first and second practice in Sakhir, much bigger than any other round of the championship.
“It wasn’t easy with the change of temperature from morning to the afternoon,” said the Dane. “At the moment, we have a lot of stuff to go through just to understand the tyres and how to get them up to temperature and by how much, which is a tricky thing here with the tarmac being very rough and the temperature varying as much as it does.”
Despite the problems with tyre temperatures, the Danish driver is optimistic that the team can gain some time and move up the field on Saturday and try replicate their qualifying performance from Australia.
“I’m still hopeful that we can make up some time tomorrow.”
