Magnussen: ‘Surprising’ Haas still competitive despite lack of F1 updates

Unlike many of his midfield rivals, Haas has yet to bring a set of major upgrades for his car to a race so far this season, and may not debut until the end of this season. months in Hungary.

The team rebounded from a five-race run without points from Miami to Canada by placing both cars in the top 10 at Silverstone as Mick Schumacher finished eighth, two places ahead of Magnussen.

Magnussen and Schumacher managed to reach Q3 in Canada and repeated the feat in Austria on Friday qualifying seventh and eighth respectively. Both earn a place on the sprint race grid thanks to Sergio Perez’s penalty.

“It’s been a good car this year, it’s looked really solid from the start,” Magnussen said after qualifying.

“We had some tough races and qualifying that wasn’t good, but most of the time we were pretty competitive. We just had a bit of bad luck. Hopefully things will change and we can score points more regularly.

“At this stage of the year, to still be so competitive, it’s a bit surprising, I have to say, and very comforting.”

The Hungary update is expected to be the only major package Haas brings to its car this season, after which it will focus on the 2023 car. Most teams brought major developments to the Spanish Grand Prix in early May, some also having additional important updates at Silverstone.

Schumacher agreed with Magnussen’s assessment of Haas’ position against his midfield rivals, saying: “I think we’re all quite surprised, but fortunately surprised.

“I’m pretty optimistic that even with the update we get, we’ll take another step forward, which even with the time we have now, should be the case.”

Schumacher’s eighth-place finish at Silverstone marked his first F1 point after a number of near misses earlier this season with Haas.

“We’re on a roll, hopefully the same tomorrow,” Schumacher said on Friday.

“We have the opportunity to score points tomorrow, which is our main objective, let’s say. And then be in a good position for the race where we can hopefully score points as well.”