Kevin Magnussen: “I had very slight damage but it was nothing”

Not for the first time this season, Kevin Magnussen leaves a FIA Formula 1 World Championship race weekend expressing his anger towards the steward’s decision-making, as a black-and-orange flag for a damaged front wing end-plate saw Magnussen fall out of contention for a points finish at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Starting from ninth-place on the grid, Magnussen would collide with Max Verstappen on the opening lap, sustaining damage to the left endplate on his front wing. Verstappen was quick to call out on the radio that the damage sustained to Magnussen’s VF-22 front wing was unsafe, and by Lap Six, the black-and-orange flag was issued to the Dane, forcing him into a pit-stop for a new front wing.

After being forced to the back of the grid, Magnussen would run the remainder of the race towards the back, and would only finish ahead of his team-mate and George Russell of those to finish the race for a twelfth-placed finish.

While Magnussen was quick to express his frustration at the stewards decision to award the black-and-orange flag, the Haas F1 Team driver stated the level of pace the VF-22 had shown on Saturday was a cause for optimism for those inside the team.

“I had very slight damage but it was nothing. I got the black and orange flag which to me seems unnecessary as the part wasn’t about to fall off, there were no safety concerns as it has tethers to the car – it wasn’t even moving. We finished P12 when we had an extra pit stop that I didn’t need, so it’s frustrating. It was a positive Saturday yesterday, and we’ve seen the car has some pace, so that’s at least encouraging. Hopefully we can keep it up moving forward.”

Mick Schumacher: “Contact with George (Russell) and consequently getting a puncture probably ruined our race”

Fortune was equally unfavourable on the other side of the Haas garage for Mick Schumacher, as the German driver saw a chance at finishing inside the points cruelly taken from him with just fifteen minutes remaining in the race.

After starting from the sixth row of the grid in twelfth-place, Schumacher would fall back two places on the opening lap but was able to work his way through the first stint of the race on the Intermediate tyres. By the thirty-fourth lap of the race, he found himself occupying a place inside the top ten.

However, with just fifteen minutes remaining in the race around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Schumacher’s race would be undone as contact with Russell heading into Turn One would result in a puncture on his VF-22 car.

After an unwelcomed second pit-stop of the race, Schumacher would come home for a thirteenth-place finish.

“The contact with George (Russell) and consequently getting a puncture probably ruined our race. To finish P13 I think we can say in one way that we’re happy that we finished, as not a lot of people did. Being the only rookie coming to the race to finish also is an achievement, so we can tick that box. We had the pace, we had the pace for points and unfortunately we just got unlucky. Nonetheless, we’re going to Suzuka with a good feeling.”

Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd