Kevin Magussen admitted that he was very disappointed with himself after his first-lap incident during the Malaysia Grand Prix.
The Danish McLaren driver, who had finished on the podium in his first Formula 1 race in Australia, made contact with the right rear tyre of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari during the opening lap.
As a result of the incident, Raikkonen got a puncture and Magnussen was forced to pit to replace his front wing. The rookie was also given a five-second stop-and-go penalty for the crash, and has been given two penalty points on his licence.
Magnussen went on to finish in ninth position. “I’m sorry for the team that I messed it up in the first corner,” said Magnussen. “I think we could have got some good points today so I’m really disappointed with myself that I did that mistake, ” he told Eurosport.
“That stuff happens. You just have to learn from it, I guess. The car was really good and I’m sorry for the team that I did a mistake.”
The Dane, in only his second Formula 1 race, said his lack of experience was no excuse for his mistake.
“No excuses. I’m not happy. When you make mistakes is not nice. I take the blame for the bad position that we got. Formula 1 races are long and I shouldn’t have made a mistake like that in the first corner. “We could have had a lot more points today. Not much to say. I’m sorry for the team.”
Source: Eurosport.du.ae