Magnussen admits he took “too long to learn” Losail circuit

Haas’s Kevin Magnussen rued that he took “too long to learn” the Losail International Circuit, which he raced on for the first time last weekend.

Despite his extensive experience, Magnussen said he let himself down over the weekend by not learning the flowing track layout fast enough. As it was a sprint race weekend, he had one one hour of practice before qualifying for the grand prix to learn the layout.

“I didn’t know the track coming here, and frankly it took me too long to learn,” he admitted after finishing 14th in the grand prix.

Magnussen said he only found a rhythm around the track during Sunday’s race. He was one of five drivers who were totally new to Losail, with three of others yet to debut in F1 when it last raced in Qatar. However the track was resurfaced ahead of last week’s race.

“It was a bigger challenge than I thought it would be, and unfortunately I couldn’t with one practice learn the track, which is kind of understandable, but I got caught out and was surprised by it a little bit,” a resigned Magnussen said.

“I didn’t maximise it. You get one practice, I didn’t really find the rhythm properly and then I kind of just tried too hard in both qualifying [sessions].”

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“I was out in Q1, so I only got [those laps]. If we had a ‘easy Q3’ car, you could get more laps and get used to it. But I was out in Q1 both times, so because I didn’t do a good enough lap [I didn’t get more].”

His team mate Nico Hulkenberg reached Q2 in Friday qualifying, then put himself seventh on the grid for the sprint race. It marked his second outing at Losail, having won from pole when GP2 Asia visited the track in 2009.

“After practice one, I remembered how much I like this track,” said Hulkenberg. “Obviously it was a long time since 2009, and I kind of forgot how cool it was.

“It’s my type of circuit, very flowing. I don’t know. I just got it hooked, I think, and then feel really comfortable and confident.”

“Obviously we don’t have much time here with the one practice, so we didn’t do too much [car tuning], or we couldn’t do too much,” he added. “It was not easy, especially with the wind yesterday and this morning.

“But I think we managed pretty well, considering all the circumstances and that we have a car that hasn’t had an update for half a season or something.”

However neither Haas driver scored last weekend. Hulkenberg retired from the sprint race in a three-car crash with Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon and finished a lapped 16th in the grand prix. Magnussen came 13th in the sprint race and 14th on Sunday.

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2023 Qatar Grand Prix

• Albon fears Qatar GP conditions risked creating dangerous “wet bulb effect”
• Alonso: New-spec fireproofs and pre-race anthem timing made Qatar heat worse
• Magnussen admits he took “too long to learn” Losail circuit
• Analysis: Sargeant’s Qatar radio reveals his painful struggle to end point-less run
• Alfa Romeo ‘finally understand their upgrade’ Bottas believes as team target Williams