Magnussen eyes Renault as Haas’ ‘strongest competitor’
Kevin Magnussen admits Renault is currently the “strongest competitor” out the midfield pack in 2018 but has not shied away from targeting fighting the French outfit on a consistent basis.
Haas has endured a positive start to the season with a clear competitive package, despite missing the chance to secure a big haul of points at the season-opener in Melbourne following a cross-threaded wheel nut issue during its pitstops.
Magnussen’s points finishes in Bahrain and China makes up the American marque’s total of 11 championship points, leaving them seventh in the constructors’ championship just one point behind Toro Rosso.
Having shown it has the potential to contest with highly-established manufacturers, Magnussen believes Haas has a car “easily” capable of matching Renault.
“At the moment, I think we are very even with Renault and perhaps a little faster than McLaren, at least in qualifying,” said Magnussen.
“The rest of the midfield, perhaps, seems a little more inconsistent, but they can definitely be up there with the rest of us on occasions.
“Renault is probably the strongest competitor in the midfield, but I think we have a car that can easily match them, and when we do well, beat them also.
“That should be our aim at the moment – to be fighting those guys. Obviously, we want to improve on last year’s result, which was eighth, and I think that’s a feasible target.
“We’re doing well at the moment, in terms of performance, but if we find ourselves in a good position halfway through the season, then maybe we have to reset our goals.”
The Dane reckons it’s tough to predict how the VF-18 will perform on the Baku’s street circuit but insists the team will aim to get the most out of the car.
“Our car balance should be fine in Baku. It’s true that we do have a very good car this year – it’s very well balanced. But it’s going to be very difficult to predict how we’re going to be in Baku, as we don’t know what other people are going to bring in terms of special packages for that circuit.
“We’re going to try and get the most out of the car, but it’s going to be interesting to see what other people do.