Magnussen reveals where new era F1 falls behind the old breed

Kevin Magnussen has explained where F1's new breed of car is "way worse" compared to the previous generation of machinery.

The Danish driver finished 14th in the Australian Grand Prix after his strategy was severely compromised by an unfortunately timed safety car that hampered those who started the race on hard tyres and benefited those on medium Pirelli rubber.

Locked into the midfield battle and attempting to improve his position early in the race, Magnussen locked up whilst behind Yuki Tsunoda into turn nine.

F1's new regulations were introduced in the hope of promoting closer racing at circuits like Melbourne which is fraught with high-speed, sweeping corners that, in the past, would have strung out competitors.

Asked if it was easy to follow around the revamped Albert Park circuit, which had changed significantly since the last visit in 2019, Magnussen replied: "Yeah, well I had one where I was really close into nine and there was just nothing, no downforce.

"If you are like one car length behind, it is really good. So it is like, if you are right on his tail it is way worse than the old cars, but if you are about one car length, it is better.

"It is better for racing because you can launch an attack easier."

On if he had experienced a similar feeling so far this year, Magnussen added: "Not like that, I was right on his tail into turn nine and when I braked, I just locked both tyres at high speed. Not normal."

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