Magnussen pins hopes on safety car for Bahrain recovery

The Dane was one of several drivers who lost their final laps in Q1 when Carlos Sainz brought out double-waved yellow flags when his Toro Rosso stopped on track.

In China last weekend, Magnussen's Haas teammate Romain Grosjean suffered in a similar way when Antonio Giovinazzi crashed.

"I had a yellow flag on my second attempt, so I didn't get a proper lap at all in Q1," said Magnussen when asked by Motorsport.com. "So pretty unlucky, but that's what happens sometimes.

"The weekend is not over yet. We still have a race to do, and I think anything can happen with safety cars and stuff like that.

"You can still make up positions with a good first lap, and get close to the points, and with a good race after that, you can still do something.

"There's no reason to give up. I think it's clear that we have a car capable of fighting for the points.

"I'm still looking forward to the race, even though I'm starting from the back. It's going to be more difficult if we don't hit the safety car in the right way.

"It's still possible, but it's going to be extremely hard, and it will require a really good first lap, and after that some luck as well."

Magnussen added that he was encouraged by Grosjean's ninth place on the Bahrain grid.

"It's really good to see," he said. "The car is there to score points, we just need to not be unlucky in qualifying.

"Last time it was Romain, this time it was me. I'm looking forward to getting a no-bullshit qualifying."