Kevin Magnussen desperate for Haas to fix ‘very frustrating’ issue

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Kevin Magnussen is desperate for Haas to fix how ‘fragile’ their 2023 Formula 1 car is as the issue is ‘very frustrating’ and stops him from setting quick qualifying lap times.

The 30-year-old is losing his head-to-head battle with Haas teammate Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying after 14 Grand Prix. Magnussen has only bettered the 36-year-old over one single lap at three of the races so far this year. Hulkenberg has had the edge in qualifying 11 times.

Only in Miami, Monaco and Belgium has Magnussen finished the qualifying session ahead of Hulkenberg. The Dane even put his car P4 on the grid at the Miami International Autodrome in May. But Hulkenberg bests Magnussen’s best qualifying result with P2 at the Canadian GP.

Hulkenberg is dominating Magnussen in the Haas head-to-head qualifying battle

Hulkenberg also qualified P10 for the season-opening Bahrain GP on his return to Formula 1 with Haas teammate Magnussen P17. The experienced racer had only driven five Grand Prix over the previous three years whilst serving as a stand-in for Racing Point and Aston Martin.

Yet despite racing three Grand Prix in 2020 and two in 2022, Hulkenberg has tended to get single-lap pace out of his Haas in 2023. But the car’s problems also extend into the race on a Sunday. So, Hulkenberg has only scored Haas nine points and Magnussen has two so far.

Magnussen claimed his measly points haul with 10th-place finishes at the Saudi Arabian and Miami Grand Prix. Hulkenberg, meanwhile, has only scored points in one Grand Prix with P7 in Australia. He also finished P6 in the Sprint at the Austrian GP for three of his points so far.

Magnussen is desperate for Haas’ updates to their ‘fragile’ car

Magnussen believes the fragility of the Haas car makes it too challenging for the Dane to get everything he can out of the VF-23 in qualifying. But their issues also extend into the race as the car is too hard on its tyres. So, any progress he can make quickly fades as a stint rolls on.

Haas are expected to bring updates to the problematic VF-23 for the US Grand Prix in Austin on October 22. But their timeline leaves Magnussen and Hulkenberg having to manage their car’s issues during three more rounds across the Singapore, Japanese and Qatar Grand Prix.

Magnussen admitted, as quoted by RacingNews365: “There’s a big difference between what this car can do in the right circumstances when everything is well. But it’s too fragile and too difficult, especially for me with my driving style.

“This weakness makes it very hard to get that one lap out of it. But it doesn’t really matter for me because, in the race, it’s all fine again and there’s no lack of pace compared to what Nico was able to do. We just struggle as a team to keep the tyres alive.

“At the beginning of the stints, just after a pit stop, when we pit and come out with new tyres, it feels like we’re back in the race. You can gain on people, then you just fall back after a while. So, that’s very frustrating and something that I’m looking forward to resolving.”