Kevin Magnussen had his first drive of the Rich Energy Haas F1 Team‘s VF-19 on the second day of the first 2019 FIA Formula 1 World Championship pre-Season Test.
The Dane showed great pace with the third fastest time of the day, a lap time of 1:19.206, less than half a tenth behind his team-mate Romain Grosjean‘s fastest time the day before and under a second behind Charles Leclerc‘s lap that was quickest on the second day.
The veteran accumulated a total of only 59 laps after a car seat issue curtailed his running before handing the seat over to reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi for the final 30 minutes.
Magnussen believes his new car is promising and hopes Haas can continue to build for the rest of the test.
“First impressions of the VF-19 were very good. The car seems to be handling well, it was showing consistency,” Magnussen said.
“I certainly have a good feeling to start off with. Of course, there’s a lot more work to be done when it comes to the details, but there’s no worries at this point.”
The former Renault F1 Team and McLaren F1 Team driver will be next on the circuit on Thursday. Grosjean and Fittipaldi will test the Haas car again on Wednesday.
