Kevin Magnussen admitted it was ‘a little bit disappointing’ after failing to reach Q3 at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Haas F1 Team driver had qualified sixth and seventh so far this season but had to settle for being knocked out in Q2 in China, and will start on the inside of the sixth row in eleventh.
“It’s a little bit disappointing to not progress into Q3,” said Magnussen. “I had a bad out lap, and with these tyres, at this track, it’s a very narrow window to get them to work.
“If you don’t hook it up perfectly on the warmup, you lose a lot of performance. On top of that, it wasn’t a perfect lap.”
The Danish driver is looking to the positive side as he is the first driver on the grid that gets a free choice of tyre, particularly as the Ultrasoft tyre is likely not to last long at the start of the race. Magnussen also feels the VF-18 car is good enough to reach the points and add to the ten points he scored in Bahrain.
“I think P11 is perhaps not so bad a qualifying position,” said Magnussen. “We have a free choice of tyre to start the race, so that’s a bonus.
“The car is pretty good. If we can hook it up tomorrow and have a good race, I’m sure we can score some points.”
