Haas Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen says he hopes there will not be Grands Prix in 2019 in which drivers have to undertake an “extreme and ridiculous” amount of tyre- or fuel-saving.
Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli previously outlined plans to adopt a harder approach with its compounds for 2019.
Pirelli anticipates that, while one-stop strategies will still be preferred, drivers should be able to push harder on the tyres, as opposed to running at a slower pace to preserve the rubber.
In addition, the FIA has increased the fuel limit for each car from 105kg to 110kg for a race distance.
Magnussen was one of the most vocal critics of heavy management races last year, having been excluded from a points-paying position at the US Grand Prix for running 100g over the fuel limit.
It prompted the Dane to refer to the championship as “Formula Fuelsave”, and speaking at the launch of Haas’ 2019 season in London on Thursday, expressed hope that the situation won’t re-occur.
“We have a bit more fuel, which is a nice thing,” said Magnussen of 2019 regulations.
“The most frustrating thing is having to save too much fuel. A little bit of saving is fine, there’s always been a bit of fuel saving in Formula 1.
“But for me fuel saving in the way that we did a couple of times last year is a joke.
“The tyre thing is another thing, sometimes like [in] Mexico [it] just didn’t work for us, we were going eight seconds slower than what we could do with a new tyre in the race, and that’s always very frustrating.
“I just hope that we won’t get these extremes in areas where [it's as if] you’re not racing anymore.
“It’s okay to have to manage, that’s expected in Formula 1, but having to manage in those extreme and ridiculous ways that we had to do a few times, whether that be fuel or tyres, that’s a bit stupid and I hope that situation is altered.”
On his personal ambitions for 2019, Magnussen said: “That depends on what kind of car I get.
“Then when you see what kind of car you have you start to build some kind of goal for the season.
“That’s the frustrating thing about Formula 1: you can never just go into the season and say ‘I want to be the best this year’. I can say that but I can never prove it.
“I want to be the best and I feel like I can do that, but proving it is difficult in Formula 1 if you don’t have the best car.”
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