Pedro De La Rosa says everyone now underestimates ‘super-strong’ driver in qualifying

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Pedro De La Rosa has said that people underestimate how good Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen is in qualifying.

De La Rosa was talking about the Danish driver on the F1 Nation Podcast after a fascinating Singapore Grand Prix.

Red Bull’s dominance at the front of the grid was finally ended by Carlos Sainz and Ferrari.

Lando Norris was on the podium once again and joined by fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton after George Russell dramatically crashed out on the final lap.

However, there were still some very exciting storylines further down the grid.

The normal back markers were joined by the two Red Bulls fighting for the final few points on Sunday.

Kevin Magnussen scored his first point since Miami at the weekend and set himself up for success with his performance on Saturday.

Pedro De La Rosa has said that Magnussen is still very strong in qualifying despite being overshadowed by teammate Nico Hulkenberg at times this season.

The German is well known for his strong performances over one lap, even if the Haas car has struggled on Sundays.

De La Rosa hails Magnussen in qualifying

Asked about the 30-year-old driver, De La Rosa said: “I think it was something that sooner or later would happen because I think we should not underestimate how quick Kevin [Magnussen] is as well in qualifying.

“The only thing that I really don’t understand about Haas is how quick they’ve been in the past in qualifying but how they cannot keep that level of competitiveness during the race.

“They seem to have more degradation or they seem to go back, so this is something that I don’t really understand about Haas.

“They’re really fast in qualifying but then in the race they seem to have difficulty in keeping the pace.

“But I’m not surprised, they have a pair of super-strong drivers.”

Hulkenberg is currently 11-4 up over Magnussen in qualifying this season for Haas.

The German is rapid on a Saturday but has only finished ahead of his teammate on eight occasions compared to Magnussen’s seven.

De La Rosa believes Magnussen and Hulkenberg is a very strong partnership but the car hasn’t reflected that this season.

They’ll both be hoping that the car is faster in 2024 when they’ll be partnering with each other for another season.