Kevin Magnussen jokes about Haas upgrades

Kevin Magnussen has been in the points five times in a solid return to the sport this season.

After going five straight races without scoring any points, it was beginning to look like another typical season for Haas that started well, and soured after a few rounds.

However, for the first time since the end of the 2018 season, the American side have managed two double points finishes in a row, and Mick Schumacher has started hitting the target after going 31 race entries without a top 10 finish.

The German has also finished ahead in each of the last two, meaning that he leads the race battle 7-4, although the 29-year-old has out-qualified Schumacher nine times this term.

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The expertise of Magnussen and the improved performance of the car under the new technical regulations this season were a blessing for the Banbury-based outfit, and having two drivers in the points is a huge lift for the side that, at the British Grand Prix, managed their first points since Imola.

Austria was a weight off the shoulders for everyone at the team, as collisions, reliability failures and strategic decisions had cost them in Miami, Spain, Monaco, Baku and Canada.

“I feel good, what a weekend for our team, it’s really been great,” said Magnussen, quoted by Motorsport Week.

“Finally we had a bit of luck, it finally went our way. 

“After those four or five races recently that weren’t good for us, we had the pace. 

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“It’s hard not to get down a little bit about it, the last two races we’ve been lucky, especially this weekend. 

“We just had a great qualifying, a great Sprint qualifying and then a great race, I’m quite happy.”

As for reliability, the Dane was looking to the heavens to help ensure that his car and engine would make it to the end of the race in Spielberg.

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“I had a bit of an engine issue all race, so I was just praying to God that it would blow up, which it didn’t,” added Magnussen.

“I’m super thankful for that, that I was able to finish the race with that problem.”

Upgrades can be a tricky business – sometimes they work, sometimes they do not, but while Haas begin to turn their attentions to next season, they have some more development in the pipeline for this year, something that excites Magnussen.

“It’s exciting, I’m looking forward to see… I’m getting nervous for that upgrade, maybe we shouldn’t use it at all!” he joked.

“No, it’s very exciting, we’re in a great position.”

Schumacher finished sixth with Magnussen eighth in Spielberg after Lando Norris managed to clear the Roskilde-born driver.