Magnussen has low expectations for Australia
Kevin Magnussen says he has low expectations for the Australian Grand Prix weekend after a difficult winter for the McLaren team.
Magnussen will be racing for the Woking-based team in Melbourne after Fernando Alonso was ruled out following his accident during testing at Barcelona last month.
The Danish driver had just one day of testing with the Honda-powered car before the season opener, and he only managed 39 laps in that session.
Magnussen admits reliability remains a big concern.
"I would say quite low," said Magnussen about his expectations ahead of the race. "We're struggling obviously with reliability, making the car run for a long time.
"But this is a new start for McLaren, a new start in many ways and I think it's going to take time.
"But I think it's the right direction that the team has chosen to go and I think it has a bright future ahead. But I think it's going to take time but I'm sure they'll get there."
The McLaren driver said it would be very valuable to have trouble-free practice sessions in order to make up for the time lost during the pre-season.
"I didn't get as many laps as I thought I'd get but I would get maximum 150 laps in a day if everything runs perfectly," he said. "I got nearly 40 laps and I think all of those were low fuel, so at least I'm pretty prepared for that.
"I haven't felt the car on high fuel yet so that will be interesting to see how that feels. But you know I've driven race cars before, it's not a completely different thing. It's a different car but I think it should be OK."
Share Or Save This Story
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
Ocon wants answers to understand pace slump against Alpine team-mate
Fernando Alonso: No timeframe on confirming F1 future
Who belongs on F1's Mount Rushmore? Pick your four greatest drivers
The expectation on Aston Martin's shoulders as it prepares to debut its Hungarian GP updates
Mercedes will be "worried" about McLaren threat in F1 title fight, says former driver
Lando Norris: I hope Mercedes gets a double disqualification in Las Vegas and forgets to pit in Qatar
Why Lando Norris was “surprised” to claim Dutch GP pole position
"It made no sense" – F1 drivers question safety car formation lap after early Dutch GP chaos
David Malukas, Sting Ray Robb out of Freedom 250 after huge crash as Palou penalized
Mercedes "clearly" not F1's best team anymore - Kimi Antonelli
Lando Norris made his own life difficult again - but his recovery was stunning in Zandvoort's swansong
Lando Norris made his own life difficult again - but his recovery was stunning in Zandvoort's swansong
Why Lando Norris was “surprised” to claim Dutch GP pole position
What we learned from the 2026 F1 Dutch GP sprint race and qualifying
Why Williams problems are worse than previously known
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments