In an exciting Miami GP sprint, HAAS driver, Kevin Magnussen racked up 35 seconds worth of penalties to “protect” his team-mate who was in the points.
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While speaking with Sky Sports F1 after the race, Magnussen was asked “Ultimately you were able to help your teammate in that process, what are your thoughts”?
The HAAS drives replied with a shrug and confirmed “All the penalties were well deserved, no doubt about it, but I had to play the game again”
The Dane alludes to the last time he employed similar tactics during the Saudi Arabian GP.
HAAS Looked Strong
Describing his race, Magnussen explained he had a good start, getting the car into the points, in eighth place, “Up in P8, protected well from Lewis I had DRS from Nico [Hulkenburg]” Kevin explained that he lost the protection when Hulkenburg cut the chicane, increasing the gap to over 1 second and losing DRS.
Unable to get DRS back
Due to the speed of the cars behind, HAAS were unable to decrease the gap between the two cars, as Magnussen confirmed that if they did they would easily be 7th and 8th.
“Not the way I like to go Racing at all but what I had to do today“
Kevin Magnussen on the strategy he used during the Miami Sprint
The gap between the cars opened up the chance for Hamilton to attempt to pass the HAAS, leading to some on-the-line racing between the pair.
As Magnussen confirmed during the interview “Instead I was really vulnerable to Lewis and started fighting with him like crazy.”
Although HAAS were able to secure valuable points, Kevin confirmed that he doesn’t enjoy the games, calling them “stupid tactics”, however, he clarified that “At the end of the day I did my job as a teammate, Nico scored his points cause I got that gap for him, Lewis and Tsunoda couldn’t catch him”.
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