Magnussen praises 'more forgiving, more predictable' Haas

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Kevin Magnussen says that the consistency of this year's Haas VF-18 chassis is proving to be the secret of the team's early season success.

Magnussen has finished in the top ten twice so far in 2018. He was running toward the front of the field in Melbourne before a pit stop problem forced him to retire.

"We’ve started with a good car and done a good job over the winter," the Dane told the official Thursday FIA press conference in Baku.

"We haven’t had a perfect start to the year so I think there’s more in it if we can get through the races and clear out any mistakes. Then I think we’re in good shape.

"It’s only been three races but I think the car is obviously better than last year," he said. "Our car this year is a little easier to work with and seems like it has a broader window for its performance.

"You can set it up for what you prefer as a driver, in your driving style and it will still work.

"It’s just a little easier to drive. A little more forgiving, more predictable and it obviously has more grip," he added. "In terms of aero it’s more consistent.

Magnussen sets sights on besting Renault in 2018

"I prefer a consistent car. Especially on the rear - a rear that I can trust and depend on and predict. This car has a good consistency in that regard.

"Last year consistency wasn’t our biggest strength, so I think that’s an area we have improved," he noted. "I think that helps, but generally just being more competitive makes things easier.

"It’s a nice feeling," he smiled. "It’s more and enjoyable and easier to look forward to the races when you know you’ve got a good car and can fight for points.

"Whether it will stay like that for the whole year, I think it depends a lot on how the other teams do: obviously, Renault and McLaren.

"I’m hoping that we can at least be much more competitive thought the whole season than last year," he said. "Whether we can keep up to those big guys, it’s not going to be easy. But we’ll do our best."

Magnussen was also pleased with this year's power unit from Ferrari.

"It’s a step forward," he confirmed. "Not only in power. A little step in power, but in reliability. We need to see a little further to be sure that the reliability is there completely but it seems like it is.

"No complaints about the power unit. It’s not the power unit’s fault that we’re not winning, for sure."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.