Kevin Magnussen was pleased with his performance in qualifying as he believes the Formula 1 upgrades brought to Austin has given Haas an advantage over the midfield pack.
The Danish driver qualified in seventh place for the Mexico City Grand Prix with his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in 10th.
Haas scored more points last time out at the United States Grand Prix with its seven from the weekend, as its upgrades appeared to work.
Unsure whether its performance in Austin would translate to Mexico, both Haas drivers made it into Q3 and will start inside the top-10 for Sunday’s race.
After Qualifying, Magnussen told media including Motorsport Week: “Yeah, I think it’s nice. We put a good weekend together in Austin, except for the race with the strategy, but it was strong.
“I think we had the car in a good spot in Austin. It’s a different track here, but we have been able to take the same car and put it on track because it’s high downforce.
“And we were thinking whether it was going to be a one-off, track-specific thing. Come to a very different track here and it’s good again.
“Yeah, I think it’s showing, of course, that the upgrade has at least not been a bad thing.
“I think it’s given us a little bit, which is good. In this tight midfield, if we even gain half a tenth, it’s going to make a big difference, I think we’re in a good spot.
“Very happy with that and happy with P7, hoping we can stay ahead of the midfield tomorrow.”
READ MORE – F1 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix – Qualifying Results
Nico Hulkenberg says Mexico weekend has ‘been a struggle’ so far
It has been a good year so far for the Haas F1 team as they currently lead the midfield pack in the Constructors’ Standings.
Haas is in sixth place with 38 points, just above its rivals RB who are just two points behind.
The team therefore needs both drivers to score points in the race but Hulkenberg wasn’t feeling too optimistic after the qualifying session.
“Yeah, it didn’t come together that well, particularly the last run obviously on new tyres,” he said.
“It’s been a struggle, to be honest, all weekend long. I’m struggling to find a good rhythm and, you know, to get a good connection with the car.
“Some runs are a little bit better than the next run I go out and it’s kind of back to, you know, back to beginning and struggle for rhythm and harmony.
“So, yeah, it’s been a challenging weekend from that point of view and quali the same.
“Some laps good, some laps just really kind of a struggle and yeah, the last one in Q3 wasn’t good, unfortunately.”
Asked about why he was struggling, he added: “I think it’s just, it’s a typical Mexico scenario, you know, the thin air just makes the car feel light.
“And it’s hard to find the sweet spots and to get that, you know, grip, the bite, grip feeling.
“It’s quite common here but this year maybe a little bit more, don’t know why, but it’s just the way it is.”
However, Hulkenberg did feel that Haas’ package this weekend was ‘decent’ as its drivers aim for more points in the Mexico City GP.
READ MORE – Kevin Magnussen urges F1 stewards to stop ‘punishing ridiculous things’
