The Haas F1 Team enjoyed their Friday at the Red Bull Ring, with both Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher making it into Q3 during Qualifying.
Just a week on from their first two-car top ten finish in three years in the British Grand Prix, both Magnussen and Schumacher were quick from the get-go in Austria, with the two set to share row four of the grid for Saturday’s Sprint race.
Magnussen was pleased to have such a strong car right from the start of the weekend, even though he felt there was still some time left on the table when it mattered in Q3.
“It’s been a good Friday,” said Magnussen. “We got the car on track for the first run in FP1 and it looked competitive.
“I was pretty confident going into qualifying and it’s been a strong day. I don’t even feel like we got the most out of it, it felt like there was a little more lap time in it.
“It’s funny as I’m P7 and I’m not super happy, so that’s a very good position to be in.”
“I think there was definitely more lap time in it” – Mick Schumacher
Schumacher joined Magnussen inside the top ten and will line-up eighth on the grid for the Sprint race, although he admits he was lucky to make it into the top ten shootout.
The German admitted it was not the cleanest of sessions for him at the Red Bull Ring, but he has eyes on finishing inside the top eight on Saturday to score points a week after breaking his duck in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
“We came quite close with that Q3 cut-off, so we were lucky there as we didn’t quite maximize the lap but otherwise it was ok, but not the cleanest of sessions,” said Schumacher.
“Trying to push the tyres to get them warmed up again is never great, you’re already taking some potential out of them and I think there was definitely more lap time in it.
“If we hold position tomorrow, we have points and if we move forward, we gain even more so we’ll go for the more points option hopefully.”
