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Magnussen bemoans ‘wasted weekend’ after early crash, while Schumacher’s points hopes dashed by slow stop
The two Haas drivers had endured mixed fortunes in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, but on race day both found themselves coming home outside of the points on a disappointing Sunday. While Kevin Magnussen said he only had himself to blame for a Lap 2 crash that could easily have forced him out of the race, Mick Schumacher was left rueing a slow pit stop that cost him a shot at the top 10.
The German had started eighth for the race, his second best grid slot of the year. But he opted for the medium tyre off the line, and the resultant slow getaway saw him drop down to P10. Nonetheless the race may have come back to him, but for a slow first pit stop.
“We didn’t have the greatest of pit stops with the 10 second standing time, I think we had a problem with the front jack not coming off and essentially that brought us out of contention for the points this weekend,” he said.
READ MORE: What the teams said – Race day in the Netherlands
“These things happen, we’re now looking ahead at scoring points in the new few races to come.”
One highlight for Schumacher was another wheel to wheel fight with his mentor Sebastian Vettel, who was also trying to recover from a slower than usual pit stop. The two found themselves side by side throughout much of Lap 48, with Schumacher eventually getting the better of his countryman.
“I had a lot of fun even though I was at the wrong end of the field, battling with Sebastian is always great,” he said afterwards.
As for Magnussen, starting from 18th was never going to leave the Dane with an easy afternoon and he made it much harder for himself when he ran wide on the second lap, going off into the gravel and bouncing off the barriers for good measure. Although he immediately informed the team that the car was okay and didn’t have to pit for a new front wing, the time lost proved crucial.
“When you hit the wall in the race it’s not good, but it was my mistake. I tried too hard, lost the rear, went off and hit the wall, came back and I was able to continue. I tried my best to come back but I spent a long time trying to just get back up to the field,” was his assessment of that moment. “It was a bit of a wasted weekend, so I hope we do better next time.”
Monza is up next for the two drivers – but having struggled at Spa with a lack of performance on the high-speed straights, the Temple of Speed may prove another difficult venue for the American team.
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