Kevin Magnussen is hopeful that Haas can solve a key trait with its car, after complaining that it is "too fragile" for his driving style. The team is rumoured to be introducing a 'b-spec' version of its VF-23 at the upcoming race in Austin, which will be the first step towards adopting a new car concept for 2024. Magnussen hopes the team can resolve its tyre degradation problems, which can often lead to it dropping outside of the top ten positions following good qualifying sessions or starts. "The car has some performance in it. Nico [Hulkenberg] seems to have been able to do it more often than I have," Magnussen told media, including RacingNews365 . "I've been P4 in qualifying but only twice just been able to get into the top 10 to get one point [in the race]. "So 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."
Magnussen: Weakness makes it harder
Magnussen described how it often feels like Haas can get back into the race following a pit stop, only to find that their tyres have passed their peak performance quicker than those around them. "This weakness makes it very hard to get that one lap out of it," he said. "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 [time] on people, then you just fall back after a while. So that's very frustrating and something that I'm looking forward to resolving."
Most read
