Tyres struggle under heavy fuel loads says Kevin Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen has taken his Haas car into Q3 in each of the three Grands Prix this season, but he's only finished above 13th once on a Sunday.

He insists this is down to how the tyres react when running with heavy fuel loads. The Haas driver confirms the American team are yet to solve the issue ahead of the Grand Prix in Baku.

“The only difference there is between qualifying and the race is that you fill it up with fuel and do more laps on the same set of tires. It’s got to be something with the tires. We don’t understand the full picture, yet, but we’re working hard to figure it out," he said in his race preview.

Magnussen's eight points came from his sixth-place finish around the Albert Park street circuit in Australia. His teammate, Romain Grosjean, was on for points but was forced to retire after a pitstop error.

Despite the Azerbijian Grand Prix also taking place in the streets, Magnussen doesn't expect the same result to simply carry over.

“I think they’re two very different tracks. Baku is a low-downforce track with very long straights, slow corners, and quite [a] low grip from the track. It’s going to be interesting to see how we go there. I don’t anticipate it to be our strongest circuit of the year, but I’m still positive we can go there and fight for points," he added.