Magnussen had a strong qualifying session, taking fifth, fourth and sixth places in the three sessions, but he admitted the race was likely to be difficult, due to the tire temperature problem that has held Haas out all season.
The Dane lost a few places on the opening lap but held on to the points for the first part of the race, enjoying a fierce battle with Pierre Gasly at one point.
He fell back after an off-track trip triggered by a brake problem before a virtual safety car gave him a cheap second stop for the soft tires, and a chance to catch the drivers on older tires in the last specials.
He got into the points on the final lap when George Russell crashed.
“I’m very happy with this,” Magnussen said. “It was a tough fight. I don’t think I’ve ever fought so hard to get a point. But I really, really wanted it, after a good qualifying it would have been so disappointing not to get anything out of it.
“At one point it looked difficult. Once I got that on lap 2, I thought it was game over. My tires were just finished. So we opted for software, and it worked very well.
“The pace was good. And I made up a few positions. And then a few people crashed, and I scored a point. So I’m glad I worked so hard for this.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, on the grid with the engineers
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“I just tried as hard as I could. I wanted to make sure there was nothing left there, and it paid off.
When asked if the weekend boosted his confidence, he replied: “I mean, it’s not really about confidence. It’s just that I work really hard at it.
“And it’s so nice when it pays off.” I work out at the gym. And today I worked really hard in the car. Yeah, it’s good to get something out of it. At the end of the day we are competitors, we want to show it and get something out of it.
Magnussen agrees that the team must be ready to seize opportunities such as that presented by the VSC, especially with tires being a crucial issue for the car.
“Yeah, it was good,” he said of the timing. “Of course we had an opportunity and we took it. We were ready to capitalize.
“That’s what I always say, we go to these races, and we know the race pace is not going to be that good and the tire degradation is not on our side. We just have to be ready to grab any opportunity that presents itself. And that’s what we did today. And it paid off.”
Magnussen had a strong qualifying session, taking fifth, fourth and sixth places in the three sessions, but he admitted the race was likely to be difficult, due to the tire temperature problem that has held Haas out all season.
The Dane lost a few places on the opening lap but held on to the points for the first part of the race, enjoying a fierce battle with Pierre Gasly at one point.
He fell back after an off-track trip triggered by a brake problem before a virtual safety car gave him a cheap second stop for the soft tires, and a chance to catch the drivers on older tires in the last specials.
He got into the points on the final lap when George Russell crashed.
“I’m very happy with this,” Magnussen said. “It was a tough fight. I don’t think I’ve ever fought so hard to get a point. But I really, really wanted it, after a good qualifying it would have been so disappointing not to get anything out of it.
“At one point it looked difficult. Once I got that on lap 2, I thought it was game over. My tires were just finished. So we opted for software, and it worked very well.
“The pace was good. And I made up a few positions. And then a few people crashed, and I scored a point. So I’m glad I worked so hard for this.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, on the grid with the engineers
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“I just tried as hard as I could. I wanted to make sure there was nothing left there, and it paid off.
When asked if the weekend boosted his confidence, he replied: “I mean, it’s not really about confidence. It’s just that I work really hard at it.
“And it’s so nice when it pays off.” I work out at the gym. And today I worked really hard in the car. Yeah, it’s good to get something out of it. At the end of the day we are competitors, we want to show it and get something out of it.
Magnussen agrees that the team must be ready to seize opportunities such as that presented by the VSC, especially with tires being a crucial issue for the car.
“Yeah, it was good,” he said of the timing. “Of course we had an opportunity and we took it. We were ready to capitalize.
“That’s what I always say, we go to these races, and we know the race pace is not going to be that good and the tire degradation is not on our side. We just have to be ready to grab any opportunity that presents itself. And that’s what we did today. And it paid off.”
