Missed starting set-up put Haas on back foot, says Magnussen

Following consecutive Q3 appearances for the team in Bahrain and Jeddah, Magnussen failed to make it out of Q1 at Albert Park and only managed the 17th fastest time, while team-mate Mick Schumacher was the slowest in the Q2 session and will start 15th.

But rather than the performance being a concern that the team has lost its early-season potential, Magnussen says the result can be traced back to the team not getting on top of its set-up from the off in practice on Friday.

"I think we just didn't really nail the start set-up for this track," explained the Dane, who will line up 16th after Alex Albon's Williams was disqualified from qualifying for failing to provide a one litre fuel sample.

"It was a bit different to what we expected.

"We expected it to be kind of similar to the old track, but it's actually fairly different, and I just think we missed the starting set-up, and then had a pretty long way to go to get to a good spot with the car.

"I think we got close to it in qualifying, but then qualifying was just a mess with red flags and all that. So it just hit us in a bad spot and then I was out in Q1. So that's a bummer.

"But I think you can overtake on this track, and I do think we made the car slightly better.

"We're not where we were in Bahrain and Jeddah, but I think we're closer than when this weekend started. So I'm fairly positive and still looking forward to the race tomorrow - I think we can move forward."

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-22

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Magnussen believes that with F1's midfield so competitive this year, the consequences of not getting the set-up spot on can be quite dramatic.

"I think with the field this year, if you miss your window a little bit, you'll see it very