Haas’ Kevin Magnussen believes 2017 has been his “best year” in terms of race performances, but reckons the feel of the squad’s VF-17 has hindered his one-lap displays.
Magnussen lost out 12-8 in the head-to-head battles with team-mate Romain Grosjean, and did not make Q3 all year, while the Frenchman progressed through to the top 10 shootout five times.
Magnussen took five points finishes this year, with a best result of seventh in Azerbaijan, but reckons his Saturday performances need to be refined.
“I think it’s been my best year, especially on Sundays,” said Magnussen.
“This year hasn’t been my strong year in qualifying; this car has been a bit oversteering on entry to corners and that’s not my preferred balance in the car.
“I struggle a little bit when I have oversteer on entry, I can handle mid-corner and exit [oversteer] and also on high-speed [corners], but if I can’t brake and enter the corner with a stable rear I struggle a little bit.
“That’s been a little the problem this year, it calms down in the race when you fill up the car with fuel, and also it’s worse on Ultrasoft [tyres] than Supersoft and in the race you often run with the harder compound, so it helps, [as] you get a bit more understeer.
“That’s something personally I need to work on for next year is trying to dial in the car more from the beginning of pre-season testing.
“This year I spent a bit of time trying to work out where the problem is and then you start working on that problem.
“Next year I’ll have a better understanding and be able to hit the ground running a bit better.”
Magnussen scored 19 points to finish 14th in the standings, nine points and one position adrift of Grosjean.
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