KANNAPOLIS, NC (WBTV) – After a stellar qualifying effort on Saturday by the Haas F1 Team, hopes were high for a possible points finish in the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. That hope was soon dashed in the early stages of the race, leaving the team with a p17 finish for Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher being credited with p19 after retiring from the race.
“Not what we wanted today,” said Team Principal Guenther Steiner. “Kevin’s race was over when he had to change front wing. Mick was fighting really hard and was getting into the groove but something on the PU let go and that was his day done. Obviously, when you’re dead last it’s just very hard to recover, so we ended up where we ended up.”
Max Verstappen led most of the race from the pole and got the win, followed closely by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, and Lewis Hamilton in the third. It was the first podium finish for Mercedes driver Hamilton since the start of the season.
Magnussen took the start from fifth place on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires and maintained position before relinquishing a spot to George Russell. However, Magnussen’s race was significantly compromised when he was issued the black-and-orange flag, mandating a pit stop, after sustaining minor front wing endplate damage. Magnussen came in on lap eight, taking on a new front wing and white hard tires, re-emerging in 19th. Magnussen subsequently ran to the checkered on that same set placing 17th.
“We were forced to pit with the damage we had but it was nothing,” Magnussen said. “The car was perfect to drive, there was no effect on the car. This is normal, you’ve got to be able to finish the race with some scratches on your car. We could’ve got back in, but we were forced to pit and then there was a virtual safety car and then everyone else pitted. It’s frustrating – it’s now four races or something where we haven’t scored points, so we want to get into the points again.”
Schumacher started from sixth on the grid, also on medium tires, and firmly held position inside the top 10. Schumacher preserved seventh through the first stint but on lap 19 was forced to pull off the circuit due to a power unit issue – bringing a promising race to a premature conclusion.
“We had a PU issue which is obviously very unfortunate as I think we were having a good race up until that point – the feeling of the car was great and the pace wasn’t too bad either. We can take away that the pace yesterday and even today was strong, so it’s all to play for in Silverstone. I feel like we built the cake but we just didn’t get to put the frosting on it.”
Round 10 of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone International Circuit. Practice – Friday July 1st Qualifying – Saturday July 2nd Race – Sunday July 3rd
Haas F1 Team contributed to this story.
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