Magnussen and de Vries to start Austrian GP from pitlane

Haas and AlphaTauri opted to make changes in parc fermé to the cars of Kevin Magnussen and Nyck de Vries, which means that both drivers will start their Austrian Grand Prix from the pitlane.

Magnussen qualified 19th on Friday, a lowly position that encouraged Haas to make set-up changes on the Dane's car to help optimize its balance.

AlphaTauri on the other hand undertook more extensive modifications on de Vries's AT04, reverting the rear wing and beam wing on the Dutchman's car to a previous specification after he registered the slowest straight-line speed in qualifying.

The team also took the opportunity to change the front suspension set-up on the car, while it also installed a new energy store and control electronics on its power unit.

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De Vries is under pressure to deliver better performances with AlphaTauri.

The 28-year-old is the only driver on the grid along with fellow F1 rookie Logan Sargeant at Williams do have not yet scored a top-ten finish this season.

After his disappointing display in qualifying at the Red Bull Ring, Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko turned up the pressure on de Vries by a few bars.

"It started [reasonably in Qualifying]," Marko told ORF. "Unfortunately, with the track limits and these sorts of things, I expected both drivers at least in Q2, but it didn't happen.

"We must have a close look at what we do in the future."

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