Magnussen admits Haas had "a few too many issues" in testing

Haas have only been going in a positive direction ever since they arrived in Formula One, competing for the higher points positions in 2018 and if the same projection continues, they could be challenging for podiums this year.

However, Kevin Magnussen admits that the team weren’t too happy with the amount of problems they faced in testing.

Haas had a few stoppages on track and Magnussen had to sit out part of testing with seat fitting problems, leaving reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi to do some running.

Magnussen said: “I think we all expected that the cars would be slower, at least to begin with.

“We got to Barcelona and saw that everyone was going faster than last year.

So, of course, I felt more grip in the car but, even more importantly, I think balance-wise it wasn’t too different, and if anything, it was stronger in a few areas.

“Yes, we had a few too many issues which stopped us from running but, at the end of the day, that’s what testing is for.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what it can do compared to the other teams.”

Haas will surely be hoping for a better start to the season than last year, when both Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were forced to retire with loose wheels, having run fourth and fifth earlier in the race.