Kevin Magnussen laments ‘a wasted weekend’ at Zandvoort
Kevin Magnussen in the gravel at the Dutch Grand Prix. Zandvoort September 2022.
Kevin Magnussen has written off his disappointing Dutch Grand Prix as “a wasted weekend”.
The Haas driver was, of course, not referring to his physical condition at an event where many in the 105,000 crowd might have been nursing sore heads at the end of what was essentially a three-day party – complete with big-name DJs – at the Zandvoort seaside venue.
The atmosphere was only a peripheral part of proceedings for Magnussen, who was strictly focused on the business of trying to earn World Championship points only to fail to achieve that target.
A Q1 exit meant Magnussen started the race nine places behind his team-mate Mick Schumacher, 17th compared to eighth, and his Sunday took a turn for the worse on only the second lap of the grand prix.
Running wide into the gravel, the Dane’s car brushed the barrier as he returned to the circuit – a potentially damaging blow, but it transpired the VF-22 was fine to continue.
Nevertheless, he was on the back foot thereafter having dropped to the back of the field and in the end P15 was not too bad a finishing position – only two places behind Schumacher.
Still, it was not what Magnussen, who will turn 30 in October, had been hoping for.
“When you hit the wall in the race it’s not good, but it was my mistake,” said Magnussen, who has scored 22 points this season.
“I tried too hard, lost the rear, went off and hit the wall, came back and I was able to continue.
“I tried my best to come back but I spent a long time trying to just get back up to the field. I managed to make up a few positions.
“It was a bit of a wasted weekend, so I hope we do better next time.”
Not the weekend we dreamed of. Onto Italy ➡️👊 #HaasF1 #F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/ciRa932Ij4
— Kevin Magnussen (@KevinMagnussen) September 4, 2022
Asked if anything had felt amiss with the car after the impact, Magnussen replied: “Maybe there was like some tow thing but there was no vibration, nothing.
“I continued and the pace was okay, I think, but we just lost too much ground.”
Magnussen will try to score his first points since the Austrian Grand Prix five races ago when he heads to Monza for the last leg of the triple-header.
The only time he has notched up a top-10 finish at the ‘Temple of Speed’ was when finishing P10 on his first F1 appearance there in 2014 for McLaren.
