Kevin Magnussen will use all the experience he and the Haas team gained on the hypersoft tires in Monaco. He will work with the new package the American team will have in Canada.
You’ll have some updates on your racecar for the Canadian Grand Prix. When new parts and pieces are added to your car, how important is that FP1 session to understand how they affect the car in an actual race setting?
“In FP1 we’re going to do some aero running to get numbers on the aero sensors and get a correlation check from the real car and the CFD and wind tunnel model. I don’t think we’re going to do anything unusual. I think we’re just going to do the normal thing, as we always do in FP1.”
Another relatively new wrinkle for Canada is the Pink hypersoft tire. You got a lot of experience with it at its debut in Monaco. Did it perform as you expected it, or did it present some new challenges you hadn’t seen before?
“I think the hypersoft tire is a good tire, though in Monaco I think it was still too hard – it was difficult to switch on. Hopefully, in Canada, it will be a little bit easier. You’ve got longer straights to put load on the tires at high speed to switch them on.”
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a semi-street circuit. Is there anything you can take from Monaco and apply to Montreal, especially considering Pirelli is bringing the same tire compounds from Monaco?
“Of course, we learned a bit about the hypersoft tire in Monaco. We’re going to try and work with that information and get the best out of the tire in Canada.”
It was warm in Monaco, but that’s not always the case in Montreal. How does the outside temperature affect the Pink hypersoft?
“It wasn’t particularly warm in Monaco, it was actually quite normal. I think that tarmac was about 40 degrees. Sometimes, I think, it can be the same in Montreal. I don’t think it’s going to be too big a factor.”
We’ve talked tires and engines this year, but one thing we haven’t talked much about this year is brakes. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? After the team’s travails with brakes the last two years, is it safe to say you’ve found the right package for this year?
“Yes, no problems with brakes.”
What is your favourite part of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?
“There’s lots of great places around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The most famous one is the last chicane, and it’s a really challenging part of the track, as well. It’s probably the most difficult corner on the track, and it’s the last corner, so there’s a lot of pressure when you get to the chicane. You’ve done almost the whole lap, and if you’re on a good lap, there’s lots of pressure to get this part right, as well. It’s always a corner where if you haven’t got a perfect lap, you can try and make it up in that last chicane. If you’re on a good lap, you might not want to take as much risk in that last chicane. So, it’s a really interesting part of the track. I think turns three and four – that chicane’s really technical. You’ve got some places on the track where you’re riding curbs a lot – that’s technical as well. There are some good places for overtaking with long straights. It usually offers up a very interesting race.”
Explain a lap around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, especially now after competing there with the faster, current-generation car.
“It’s kind of a low-speed track with a lot of chicanes and big braking zones. It’s a bit bumpy in places, but there are good opportunities for overtaking.”
https://t.co/vWeTYmX9fs Last day of school outfit on point ???
— Kevin Magnussen (@KevinMagnussen) May 31, 2018
