Kevin Magussen: Ferrari power unit "holding us back a little bit"

Haas

Ferrari power unit "holding us back a little bit" - Magnussen

Only one Ferrari-powered car finished inside the top 10 on Friday

Sam Hall

Friday 10 July 2020 18:17 Updated: 18:42

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen has laid part of the blame for his team's lack of performance this season at the door of power-unit provider Ferrari.

Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were clearly far from happy after setting the slowest times in second practice ahead of Sunday's Styrian Grand Prix.

While the team struggled with unusually high levels of tyre graining last season, Magnussen does not believe the focus on fixing that particular issue has weakened other areas of the car.

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"I don't think that's the problem this year," said Magnussen. "I don't think anything the team has done has made the car worse at all. There are different reasons for that.

"I think, if you look at all the Ferrari-powered cars, there are some similarities, and I think that's probably something that is holding us back a little bit."

All three Ferrari-powered teams - Haas, Alfa Romeo and the Scuderia itself - have struggled for straight-line pace in 2020. Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto confirmed after Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix there was a 0.7secs gap in this area.

Magnussen added: "All I see is we are slower on the straights this year compared to last year, having to drop more downforce than we did last year. That's all I know.

"I can't even say for sure that's the engine. I can just conclude that we're slower on the straights, and we're having to drop more downforce than last year."

Asked if the extra cooling being run to prevent a repeat of the brake overheating problems of a week ago was a factor in the loss of pace, Magnussen added: "It has had a little bit of an impact, but not a huge amount."

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