Haas drivers lament difficult Canadian GP as team’s point-less streak stretches to five races

On a weekend that promised so much, Haas’s hopes of a double-points finish at the Canadian Grand Prix were quickly dashed, with Kevin Magnussen coming home in 17th while Mick Schumacher’s race ended early on due to a power unit issue.

After a brilliant qualifying on Saturday – where Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher took fifth and sixth on the grid respectively, Magnussen’s chances of points quickly ended after he was forced into an early stop due to his front wing making contact with Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes on the opening lap.

Mick Schumacher, on the other hand, had been running in seventh when on Lap 18 he stopped at Turn 8 with a power unit issue. And the German driver, who once again missed out on his first points in Formula 1, described his retirement from the race as “unfortunate,” while believing there are still positives for his team to take forward.

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“We had a PU issue which was very unfortunate,” said Schumacher. “I think we were having a good race up to that point. Our feeling in the car was great and I think that the pace was looking not too bad either. Quite upsetting but hey, we still have a few more races to go.

“In terms of pace, yesterday but also today it looked very strong. It’s a good thing, we can take it away from here and, you know, put it into play for Silverstone.”

Canada marked the fifth race in a row that Haas failed to score points – a run stretching back to Imola – which now leaves them ninth in the constructors’ championship. And after a good start to the season, Kevin Magnussen admitted that Haas’s form of late is a concern, while lamenting the black and orange flag that forced him to pit.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating [how the race finished], four races or something we haven’t scored points so we want to try to get in the points soon,” admitted Magnussen.

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“It’s not the team’s decision,” he added, on his views regarding the black and orange flag. “The FIA thought we had to pit with that. You know it was nothing, this was normal. You’ve got to be able to finish the race with a little bit of scratches on your car, you can’t have it in one piece. I get it if the whole front wing is hanging by one stay or whatever, but it was nothing, so I don’t get it."

Reflecting on his team’s race, Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner said: “Not what we wanted today. 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.”