Magnussen absolves Haas of strategy error

Ewan Gale
Thursday 12 May 2022 13:56

Kevin Magnussen has taken the blame for missing out on points at the Miami Grand Prix.

The Danish driver failed to add to his points haul despite having been well-positioned throughout at the Miami International Autodrome.

Haas switched tyres during the late safety car period triggered by Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly's incident but Magnussen was unable to regain a top 10 position before eventually failing to reach the finish.

“We pitted under the safety car. I thought that was the best thing to do, it was my call," conceded Magnussen.

"Maybe it wasn’t the best thing but if it was a mistake, it wasn’t the team’s mistake, that is for sure.

“But anyway, I think we could have scored points, we just had that damage to the front wing right after the restart and it was quite a bit of damage.

“Without that, I don’t think I would have been fighting with Stroll at the end.”

Magnussen explains Miami contact

Magnussen was handed a five-second time penalty for contact with Lance Stroll late in the race.

It was the second time the pair had come together across the 57 laps and describing both incidents, Magnussen said: “The first one in turn three, I was on the outside of him and he just went wide. I guess he went on the kerb or something and that is when I got the damage.

“I did the whole stint and then on the second to last lap, he had a go at me into turn 11 and then it was the same thing.

“I braked too late and hit him.”