Haas rider Kevin Magnussen has made remarkable starts in Grand Prix since the start of the season, and the Dane did it again in the last race in Sochi.
Started eighteenth on the grid at the Russian Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen found himself in the top ten before the end of the first lap – well helped, admittedly, by the crashes of Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll.
Asked about this strength from his driver, Haas team manager Guenther Steiner explains that it is unfortunately not possible to factor into the strategy the fact that Magnussen can have a great start on Sunday.
“I wouldn’t say you can build it into your strategy. I think Kevin has shown he is one of the best starters, if not the best on the grid.” Steiner said.
“It’s pretty amazing what he managed to do this year with his starts. You still hope so, but there are so many strangers in the departures that you can’t really use them strategically. We always hope for the best [start], but that is not part of our strategic planning.” Steiner added.
Nurburgring is poised to make a surprise return to the F1 calendar this season. the former home of the German Grand Prix will be among the next batch of races to be added to this year’s revised schedule.
“Hopefully we can get a Mugello-style race. That was an interesting one for all the teams, all the spectators, basically it was great for everyone involved in it. The unknowns just kept coming towards us. Hopefully the same thing happens this weekend at the Nurburgring.” Steiner said.
“As I said before, rain is the prediction for Germany, that will make things even more interesting. The best outcome will be if we have a good race, with lots of variables, and from our perspective, to come home with some points, something we haven’t achieved a lot of this year.” he added.