Haas drivers suffer from the same costly problem as they leave Spain empty-handed

Haas team mates Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen finished this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in 15th and 18th respectively, leaving both drivers to lament the high degradation of their tyres that hampered their hopes of scoring points.

Hulkenberg enjoyed a strong Saturday in Barcelona, as the German driver made it into Q3 for the third time this year, qualifying in a season-best P8, before moving up a spot after Pierre Gasly was given a six-place grid drop.

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However, both Hulkenberg and Magnussen struggled throughout the race with tyre degradation as the duo – alongside McLaren’s Lando Norris who pitted on the first lap with front-wing damage – were the only ones to make three pit stops in the Grand Prix.

When asked to describe his Sunday in Barcelona, Hulkenberg replied: “Tough. Difficult. Unfortunately, the deg was really high for us.

"And we had to three-stop the race, where I think the competition two-stopped, and still the pace is similar to them.

“It looks at first glance that over one lap obviously we are competitive, but in the long runs we still have some homework to do, and some pace and deg to find.”

While his team mate made it to Q3, Magnussen was knocked out in Q1, and started Sunday’s Grand Prix from 17th on the grid and was left frustrated by the tyre degradation issues that hampered his hopes of making progress through the field.

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“At the beginning of every stint, we were very competitive, but our tyres just fell off so quickly, and we had to do a three-stop which wasn’t that optimum,” said Magnussen.

“Hopefully, we can try and learn about what caused it and improve, but certainly it was a tough race. When you have a bad weekend like this, you tend to find some interesting answers and that’s what I’m hoping for now. Onto the next one."