Mick Schumacher felt the medium compound tyre did not work as well for the Haas F1 Team as they would have liked during the São Paulo Grand Prix, and it meant an afternoon of struggles for the German in what could be his penultimate race weekend with the team.
Schumacher had made good gains during Saturday’s Sprint race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace but could not replicate the same kind of performance on Sunday, and ultimately was forced to settle for thirteenth place.
The German felt the pace was good when using the soft tyre, but the performance of the medium cost them dearly and it meant another pointless weekend for a driver seemingly fighting for his future within the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
“That medium tyre didn’t seem to work for us and we struggled a lot,” said Schumacher. “Once we got onto the softs I was a lot more comfortable and felt a lot more competitive as well.
“We maybe extended the first stint a bit too much, but you never know how long the softs will last, so overall it was alright.
“Sometimes it’s your year and sometimes it’s not and I guess this year hasn’t been mine. We still have one more to go and we’ll give it our best.”
“I think our car has had great pace all week, but it is what it is” – Kevin Magnussen
Team-mate Kevin Magnussen experienced a weekend of highs and lows in Brazil, although the low came on Sunday when he was eliminated from the race on the opening lap by Daniel Ricciardo.
McLaren F1 Team driver Ricciardo ran into the back of Magnussen’s car at turn eight and then collected the Dane’s car again as he attempted to avoid him as he spun around, with the secondary contact causing extensive damage to both cars.
Magnussen, who took his maiden Formula 1 pole position during Friday’s Qualifying session before scoring an important point for eighth place in Saturday’s Sprint race, admitted Ricciardo did not intend to purposely take him out from the race, but it was disappointing to retire as he felt he had a good car that he could have fought for points with.
“I think our car has had great pace all week, but it is what it is,” said Magnussen. “Daniel (Ricciardo) didn’t do it on purpose which isn’t any help to us but we move on.
“We’re not always up where we have been this weekend so it’s a shame that we weren’t able to capitalize on that fully today as we had great pace.”
