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Kevin Magnussen believes Haas F1 did not have enough luck during the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP weekend. The Dane did finish in P9 and recorded back-to-back points finishes for the American team for the first time since 2019. He, however, feels it could have been much better.
Magnussen started on the hard white-walled tires with plans to run a longer stint. A safety car allowed others around him on mediums and soft to get a free stop.
Speaking after the race, Kevin Magnussen felt most of his luck was used in his brilliant P5 finish in the season opener in Bahrain. He said:
“We didn’t have luck on our side. We used it all up in Bahrain. The worst thing that could have happened to us, happened, because we started on the opposite strategy, on the hard tires, and almost everyone else was on the medium. The worst thing was a safety car on lap 16 or 17, and it came on lap 16, a really bad time, so to still get two points is very good.”
Later on in the race, power failures from Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso near the pit lane entry and a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) denied him the chance to pit for fresh rubber in his ideal window. Kevin Magnussen rued the missed opportunity, saying:
“We did get a little bit of luck back at the end with the VSC but had that been a safety car instead, everyone would have been condensed, we had new tires and we would have scored big points again.”
"It's such a joy to drive" – Kevin Magnussen on Haas F1's VF-22
Despite the ill-timed VSC and stoppages of other cars that scuppered his chances, Kevin Magnussen is thrilled to be driving the Haas F1 VF-22.
Describing the car after his late arrival and limited testing time with the team, the 29-year-old said:
“The car was phenomenal again, it’s such a joy to drive. You saw at the end with me and Lewis [Hamilton], I was pulling away, and that’s not something you do every day, so super pleased. But anyway, happy. The team has done a fantastic job and we bounced back from a difficult situation on Friday when we missed nearly all of practice.”
Magnussen has been hindered by a hydraulics issue during the first two race weekends in 2022 so it remains to be seen how reliable his car will be going forward. Haas F1 will also have to foot a hefty bill for Mick Schumacher's 33G impact crash at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit during qualifying. As a result, Mick, the son of legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher, withdrew from the race as a precautionary measure.
