Kevin Magnussen labelled his 10th-place finish at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday in his McLaren-Mercedes as the hardest point he had earned in Formula One after he received burns from his overheated car.
The demanding two-hour race under the floodlights along the 23-turn Marina Bay street circuit is always one of the toughest on the calendar because of the high humidity levels.
But the Dane, in his first season in F1, was seen flailing his arms outside of his cockpit, desperately trying to get cool air down his sleeves and into his overheating suit during the race, and he acknowledged there had been more to it than just the warm racing conditions.
“It was a very, very tough grand prix,” Magnussen, 21, said.
“During the race, I don’t know if there was something wrong with the car, but my seat started getting very hot, which made things extremely uncomfortable for me.
“Without that, I think we could have done better than 10th, but at least we got that one point. It’s better than nothing. It was the hardest point I’ve ever earned.”
Magnussen had qualified ninth for the race for a McLaren team that has struggled in 2014 following their double podium at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix where the Dane finished second.
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier said the solitary point from the tough weekend, with Jenson Button retiring from the race because of mechanical problems, was difficult to accept but commended his young driver for completing the 60 punishing laps in such extreme conditions.
“He was subjected to severe bodily discomfort,” the Frenchman said. “His car’s cockpit began to overheat, necessitating his holding his arms aloft, first one then the other, in an effort to direct cooling air down his sleeves and inside his race-suit, which was an unusually painful complication for him.
“In the end, after an impressively plucky drive in extremely challenging conditions, he was able to score a single point for the team.
“It was scant consolation, of course it was, but it’s indicative of his tremendous fighting spirit, and I commend him for it.”
* Agence France-Presse
