A Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix that promised to much has ultimately ended in disappointment and frustration for the Haas Formula 1 team.
Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher lined up on the third row of the grid, equalling the team’s best ever Saturday performance.
However, things quickly went awry when Magnussen picked up damage while battling with Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap.
Forced to pit when showed the black and orange flag, his race unravelled such that he finished last of those who saw the flag.
Fortunes were even worse on the sister car, Schumacher forced out due to a power unit issue while running in contention for championship points.
“Not what we wanted today,” observed team boss Guenther Steiner.
“Kevin’s race was over when he had to change front wing.
“Mick was fighting really hard and was getting into the groove but something on the PU let go and that was his day done.
“Obviously, when you’re dead last it’s just very hard to recover, so we ended up where we ended up.”
Magnussen ended the race as the last classified finished in 17th after climbing back to as high as 12th on Lap 47.
The Dane was perplexed by officials hauling him in, suggesting the damage was only superficial.
“We were forced to pit with the damage we had but it was nothing,” he bemoaned.
“The car was perfect to drive, there was no effect on the car. This is normal, you’ve got to be able to finish the race with some scratches on your car.
“We could’ve got back in [to the race], but we were forced to pit and then there was a Virtual Safety Car and then everyone else pitted.
“It’s frustrating – it’s now four races or something where we haven’t scored points, so we want to get into the points again.”
Schumacher added of his truncated afternoon: “We had a PU issue which is obviously very unfortunate as I think we were having a good race up until that point – the feeling of the car was great and the pace was not too bad either.
“We can take away that the pace yesterday and even today was strong, so it’s all to play for in Silverstone.
“I feel like we built the cake but we just didn’t get to put the frosting on it.”
Haas’ last points finished came at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, now five races ago.
The squad sits ninth in the constructors’ championship despite a bright start to the campaign and a positive result from its drivers on Saturday in Canada.
Silverstone hosts the next round of the season, the British Grand Prix running from July 1-3.
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