F1 | Haas, Kevin Magnussen: “Ready to take every chance”

The second weekend on the Red Bull Ring circuit in Austria begins with more than a few obstacles for Guenther Steiner's team: Haas still encountered set-up and grip problems which, combined with the high temperatures, worsened the performance overall of the VF-20. Romain Grosjean finished the first free practice session in sixteenth position, before finishing nineteenth in the afternoon. A totally different day, however, for Kevin Magnussen: last during FP1, due to lack of a timed time, while in the afternoon the Dane managed to get in front of his teammate in eighteenth position.

The results of the second free practice session could be decisive for the race: the weather conditions forecast for tomorrow, in fact, could undermine the progress of the qualifying session.

"A bit of everything happened to us today – said Romain Grosjean, nineteenth in FP2 – the car set-up wasn't great this afternoon, and the high temperatures don't help in these cases. But I think it's like this for everyone, so we have to try to work better. We are checking every component, to keep everything under control. I hope all this helps us and is enough for this weekend".

A few more problems, however, for Kevin Magnussen: the Dane was unable to set a time during the first free practice session due to a battery problem, which forced him to return to the pits after just three laps: the component was replaced and Kevin was able to shoot in the afternoon.

“I wasn't able to lap during the morning, but I did a few more laps in FP2. We are not as competitive as we hoped, but we will continue to work on it. Mine wasn't a set-up problem, the car was quite good on the track. I think it's more about grip and power. It's a very simple problem, but at the same time very difficult. However, I believe that the car is more competitive in the race than on the flying lap, and in some ways that is encouraging. Although of course, we would like to have a little more in qualifying too. It looks like the weather will be disastrous during qualifying, there could be a chance. And if there are, we will be there to take them".