Magnussen commenting on his engine failure: « I don’t tend to worry about it »
Another complicated Grand Prix for Haas, with Kevin Magnussen's retirement due to an engine problem. However, the Danish driver is not worried and prefers to focus on the pure performance of his car.
On the 31st lap of the race, Kevin Magnussen encountered a problem with his Haas. Just like in qualifying on Saturday, the Danish driver experienced a breakdown and had to park his car on the track. Yet another misfortune that prevents Haas from trying to score points, which are crucial for the team.
But above all, there is yet another problem with the Ferrari engine. With Magnussen’s retirement and Hülkenberg finishing in 13th place, the outcome is not good for Haas at Silverstone. With Albon’s 8th place, Williams is now on par with the American team in the constructors’ championship. However, Kevin Magnussen does not want to be pessimistic about the issues faced by his team and wants to keep a cool head in order to make progress and score points legitimately.
Magnussen not worried
For the Danish, engine-related issues are not controllable. He has no influence on this aspect and therefore cannot worry about it.
« It’s one of those things that are so far beyond my control that I don’t tend to worry about it. I give my opinion if they [Ferrari] need it, but it’s really up to them to make the engine run and it’s not something I can have an influence on,» he said after his retirement. In other words, it’s up to the Prancing Horse to double its efforts on reliability.
But according to Magnussen, this engine failure is not the only issue at Haas.
A lack of speed
What penalizes the American team is the lack of pure pace. In qualifying, they can be quite fast, as Hülkenberg demonstrated with his 11th place on the grid at Silverstone. But since the beginning of the season, their performance in the race is rarely up to par.
Very often, Haas drivers lose the benefit of their qualifying position. With his 13th place, Nico Hülkenberg did not benefit from his 11th position on the grid, a proof of the lack of pace on Sundays.
Before giving up, Kevin Magnussen was in 14th place and didn’t even think about getting into the points. [He said,] « I think we’re just trying to learn how to position ourselves at the top of the standings. We would have needed a lucky safety car, which could have happened. »
What Kevin Magnussen is pointing out is that in regular circumstances, it’s almost impossible for Haas to score points. Indeed, with Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin, and this weekend, McLaren, it’s difficult to score points without a strong pace in the race.
« But for now, it’s a bit too difficult to be in the top 10, we can’t really get there without something external happening, so we have to consider the next step,» Magnussen said.
Haas has 11 points in the championship, which is now the same as Williams. But it is the British team and Alex Albon who seem threatening and could overtake Haas in the upcoming Grand Prix. In order to resist, the American team will have to address its reliability issues and find performance during races.
