Kevin Magnussen says his seventh place in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix is "really pole position" for Haas and says it's impossible to do any better unless you're driving a Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull.
The Dane finished the session nine-tenths adrift of Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull in sixth as the 'top three' teams filled the top six places as expected. A tiny margin of 0.045 separated him and Fernando Alonso's McLaren as Haas led the midfield challenge.
Magnussen is therefore expecting a good race to reflect Saturday's qualifying performance.
"It was a really good qualifying," he said. "P7 for us is really pole position – it’s the best you can hope for if you’re not in a Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull.
"I’m really happy with that. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and, hopefully, we can bring home some good points. It’s a good position to start, and again, P7 is probably the best we can hope for if everyone finishes.
"It’s still a very tight battle, but I think our car is strong, and we can be happy with where we are at the moment. We need to keep up the levels, continue to develop, and keep putting stuff on the car."
Team-mate Romain Grosjean was left disappointed with his performance, but nevertheless happy to make Q3.
"Pretty good qualifying for the team – both cars in the top 10. Obviously, Q3 could’ve been better and I’m not super happy to start P10 but, in general, I think we’re in a good position for the race and I’m happy for the team."
