Kevin Magnussen: Achieving first point of the season in Jeddah “means a lot”

Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen saw his fortunes turn around on race day of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, claiming a strong finish in the points after facing technical challenges in sessions prior. 

The Dane crossed the line in tenth place, earning the team’s first point of the season after coming out on top after a tight battle with Yuki Tsunoda. He overtook Tsunoda for the key position on lap forty-eight, closing out a successful campaign for Haas at Jeddah Corniche Circuit. 

Magnussen was pleased with the outcome of the race overall, saying that he had a solid start from thirteenth place and was able to minimise tyre degradation well– an element of his race that likely helped him in his pursuit of the final points position. 

“A point means a lot. We didn’t start the weekend on the right foot but it seemed like we really turned things around and found a groove for qualifying. Unfortunately, we had this issue with the gearbox that we didn’t have today, which was really nice.”

“We were able to have a good race, get a good start, manage the tires well – especially on the hard compound when I was on older tires than Tsunoda and actually had less degradation. I was then able to get past him at the end, and we managed to get a point.”

“The underlying positive news is that we’re competitive” – Nico Hülkenberg

Team-mate Nico Hülkenberg left Jeddah unable to convert his tenth place starting position into a points finish, ultimately crossing the line in twelfth. The German driver noted that the field was particularly “tight,” which made for a tricky race when paired with so much on-track action. 

Though dissatisfied to have missed out on points, Hülkenberg said that he was glad to have finished off the race and gained important knowledge as the team moves forward through the season. 

“It was eventful. It’s always a massive challenge here on this track and it was tight. On one hand I’m disappointed I missed out on a point, but on the other hand I’m very pleased that I completed the race and we’ve learned a lot.”

In reflecting on the race, Hülkenberg said that Haas has proved themselves to be “competitive” and able to battle well amongst the field– he added that this could not be discerned by their performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was hampered by car damage on race day. 

“The underlying positive news is that we’re competitive. It was difficult to judge in Bahrain with damage, but here today we’re definitely competitive in the midfield and that makes me happy.”

Credit: Mark Sutton / LAT Images / Haas F1 Team