Kevin Magnussen: Spanish Grand Prix Q&A

The 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone once again allowed you to demonstrate your prowess launching off the line as you gained four spots on the opening lap. What’s the key to a great start and why do you think you’re so good at it?

“My starts this year have been very good. I’m taking a lot of joy on the first lap trying to make up a lot of positions. Naturally, with our qualifying performance lacking, it’s crucial to make up for that and the opening lap is the best opportunity to do that. I’m putting a lot of emphasis on getting a good start and taking every position that I can on the first lap. It’s just about being focused and alert on the lap to be able to see the gaps and the opportunities. Then you go for it.” 

With tires and tire management having dominated much of Formula One’s double-stint at Silverstone – does that frustrate you as a racing driver or is it simply part of the package in modern Formula One?

“The fact that we had softer tires with higher degradation last weekend was a good thing, I think, overall. Of course, for myself, I had a lot of blistering and graining – basically my tires fell apart and I couldn’t finish the race. The blistering was so bad at the end it was becoming a safety issue; therefore, we retired the car. But, if we could have these soft tires without the degradation or any safety issues, that would be great. I think one-stop races are less interesting, having more stops in a race offers more variables in strategies and it makes it more exciting racing.”   

Is there value in going to Spain now and comparing the data from the VF-20 with what was learned in pre-season testing in February, or does the temperature difference racing there in August simply negate any possible comparison?

“I think it’s going to be interesting. We looked stronger in winter testing in Spain than we’ve been in these first five races. Hopefully that will be the case again when we get back to Barcelona. I’m hoping we can qualify slightly better and have better pace. It would be great to get a few more points if we could. We’re going to go for it in Barcelona.”

You’ve had back-to-back point-scoring finishes for Haas F1 Team in Spain – what are your Spanish Grand Prix highlights?

“I would say Spain’s been one of the tracks where we’ve been fairly successful as a team. Naturally I’m looking forward to going back there with those memories and good experiences. I’m hopeful we continue that form in Barcelona and get another point scoring finish. It’s not a given, and we’ll have to work hard to bounce back from the tough races we had at Silverstone.”