Haas driver Kevin Magnussen says his late lock-up on the safety car restart during the Belgian Grand Prix has left him feeling “really frustrated”.
The Danish racer spent a considerable chunk of the race at Spa-Francorchamps in the top 10 and looked set to score points.
It could well have been a double points finish for Haas, with his team-mate Romain Grosjean taking the chequered flag in seventh place.
But, on the restart after the safety car, Magnussen locked up into the chicane and went straight on, dropping to the back of the field and pitting again for new tyres.
“I just locked up both tyres with cold brakes, cold tyres, into the last corner at the safety-car restart,” he explained. “It was my bad and I’m really sorry for the team.
“It could’ve been a double-points finish for us this weekend. I just have to push harder next week to make up for it.
“Obviously, I’m at least happy that we scored points with Romain, but it’s hard to swallow right now. We’ll be there again next week.
“I think I would’ve had a good fight with [Felipe] Massa, for sure. I was faster than him on the stint before the safety car.
“We would’ve been fighting with him, but it didn’t happen and I’m really frustrated with that. I think we could’ve had a pretty easy double-points finish with both cars. I’m really annoyed.
“The car’s been working reasonably well this weekend. It’s a high-speed track and the next one we visit is as well. Hopefully, we can be strong again. It’s always frustrating when you miss out, and I think we did today.”
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