Hamilton Russell battle a 'bad idea' - Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen has revealed why his battle with Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell was a 'bad idea'.

Starting seventh on his return to F1, the Danish driver made an excellent start to the Bahrain Grand Prix and was challenging Hamilton's W13 for fifth going into turn four.

With the charging Russell behind in the first stint, Magnussen pushed to keep the Briton at bay, only to lock up into turn one at one stage and concede position.

On his battles with the Mercedes duo, Magnussen, who eventually finished fifth after profiting from a double Red Bull retirement, said: "I knew I had to.

"It was a hard decision. Should I try and keep these people behind? It is a Mercedes and then someone else.

"I didn't know how much faster they were so [I thought] maybe I could keep them behind for the stint.

"So I started pushing really hard, which wasn't a good idea looking back. I should have just gone easy for the tyres.

"We had to pit two laps earlier than our planned stop because I used the tyres too hard."

Explaining how the race came back towards him in the second half, Magnussen added: "We got back on track so managed that pretty well with the right amount of pushing in the critical moments.

"We got onto the C2 tyre on exactly the lap we had planned and we had the safety car with a sprint race at the end.

"I am certainly getting more into it but I think everyone is now with these cars, everyone is learning more, getting on top of it."

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Accidental Yuki Tsunoda leak reveals how F1's PR game really works

• 5 minutes ago

Lance Stroll issues bleak Honda statement after Aston Martin upgrade: 'It's a lottery'

• 1 hour ago

FIA announce three post-race penalties at Dutch Grand Prix

• 2 hours ago

Lewis Hamilton fumes at Dutch Grand Prix as Ferrari ruin their own strategy

• 3 hours ago

Ted's Notebook: When will the hit Sky F1 show be on next?

• Today 18:24

Max Verstappen reveals reason for heartbreaking Dutch Grand Prix crash

• Today 18:22