F1 | Kevin Magnussen vs Romain Grosjean: performance comparison in qualifying and race
2020 was one of the worst seasons Haas has ever had. With only three points in the constructors' championship, these were the results Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean managed to achieve for the American team.

As we have been doing for a few days now, teammate comparisons are extremely interesting and worth looking into. We have to remember that the greatest point of comparison of a driver is his teammate since both drivers have exactly the same car, consequently, any result achieved in that car is possible if you have the same car. Once the 2020 Formula 1 season is over, now is when the official results have already come to light and at MotorLat we have prepared an article to compare two drivers who have not performed as expected, either because of their skills in the steering wheel or the performance of the car. We are talking about Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, both Haas drivers. We will take into account the qualifying session and the race on Sunday so that their respective averages can be calculated in these two sessions.

- Qualifying session and starting race position.
After not having a great 2019 season by finishing ninth in the constructors' championship with just 28 units, the Haas team had high hopes of redeeming themselves and having some very good races. Some people think that this was not possible thanks to the poor performance of their Ferrari power unit, on the other hand, we have to accept that the aerodynamic design of their car was not very efficient either. The 2020 season has been one of the worst for the North American team. With just 3 points for the entire year, Haas finished in the penultimate position only ahead of Williams, who failed to break into the top 10 on any occasion. These were the results that their drivers managed to achieve this year. It should be noted that Romain Grosejan did not participate in the Sakhir and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix due to the accident he suffered in Bahrain.
In the qualifying session both drivers were very equal and this can be seen as Magnussen achieved a better position than his teammate 7 times, while Grosjean was ahead of him the other 7 times. Neither of these two drivers made it to Q3 in any race, and both Magnussen and Grosjean made it to Q2 a total of 3 times. We have taken the time to calculate the average difference the two Haas drivers have in each qualifying session by comparing their lap times. With these data we can conclude that Romain Grosjean was, on average, 0.304 seconds slower than Kevin Magnussen. The best position that the Danish driver managed to obtain in the qualifying sessions was fifteenth place (P15) on three occasions (Styrian, Eifel and Italian Grand Prix), the best position of the French driver was fourteenth (P14) in one time only (70th Anniversary Grand Prix). Now, on average, Kevin Magnussen's place in each qualifying session was 16.8, that is, rounded off, P17, while Romain Grosejan got an average place of P17 exactly. We attach a chart so that the understanding of this information is better.
Grand Prix | Magnussen's Time Lap | Magnussen's Position | Grosjean's Position | Grosjean's Time Lap | Difference from Grosjean to Magnussen |
Austria | 1:05.164 | 16 | 15 | 1:04.691 | -0.473 |
Styria | 1:20.211 | 15 | 20 | No Time | ------------------ |
Hungary | 1:16.152 | 16 | 18 | 1:16.407 | +0.255 |
Great Britain | 1:27.158 | 16 | 19 | 1:27.643 | +0.485 |
70th Anniversary | 1:28.236 | 17 | 14 | 1:27.254 | -0.982 |
Spain | 1:17.908 | 16 | 17 | 1:18.089 | +0.181 |
Belgium | 1:44.314 | 20 | 17 | 1:43.838 | -0.476 |
Italy | 1:20.869 | 15 | 16 | 1:21.139 | +0.270 |
Toscany | 1:17.348 | 20 | 15 | 1:17.254 | -0.094 |
Russia | 1:34.681 | 18 | 16 | 1:34.592 | -0.089 |
Eifel | 1:27.125 | 15 | 16 | 1:27.552 | +0.427 |
Portugal | 1:18.508 | 19 | 18 | 1:18.364 | -0.144 |
Imola | 1:15.939 | 17 | 16 | 1:15.918 | -0.021 |
Turkey | 2:08.007 | 16 | 19 | 2:12.909 | +4.902 |
Bahrain | 1:30.111 | 18 | 19 | 1:30.138 | +0.027 |
Sakhir | 54.705 | 16 | Did not participate | Did not participate | --------------- |
Abu Dhabi | 1:37.863 | 17 | Did not participate | Did not participate | --------------- |
Average Qualifying Position | 17th (16.8) |
17th (17.0) |
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Average difference from Grosjean to Magnussen | +0.304 |
- Race and final position.
The race is where the points are given, so the result in this session will determine your position in the drivers’ and constructors’ championship. To start with, Kevin Magnussen had a total of 7 retirements (Austrian, British, 70th Anniversary, Italian, Tuscan, Imola and Turkish Grand Prix), while Romain suffered 3 retirements (Austrian, Turkish and Bahrain Grand Prix), It should be noted that these could have been due to accidents or mechanical incidents. None of these drivers achieved any victory or podium this season. Magnussen's best position was 10th (P10) only once during the Hungarian GP, while Grosjean's was ninth (P9) at the Eifel GP. The Danish driver's average race podium was 14.5, that is, P14, while that of the French driver was 14.6, that is, P15. Finally, Kevin finished the season in P20 with 1 single point, while Romain finished in P19 with 2 units (1 single point difference). We attach the chart to improve understanding.
Grand Prix | Kevin Magnussen's Position | Romain Grosjean's Position |
Austria | DNF | DNF |
Styria | 12 | 13 |
Hungary | 10 | 16 |
Great Britain | DNF | 16 |
70th Anniversary | DNF | 16 |
Spain | 15 | 19 |
Belgium | 17 | 15 |
Italy | DNF | 12 |
Toscany | DNF | 12 |
Russia | 12 | 17 |
Eifel | 13 | 9 |
Portugal | 16 | 17 |
Imola | DNF | 14 |
Turkey | DNF | DNF |
Bahrain | 17 | DNF |
Sakhir | 15 | Did not participate |
Abu Dhabi | 18 | Did not participate |
Average Race Position | 14th (14.5) | 15th (14.6) |
Victories | 0 | 0 |
Podiums | 0 | 0 |
DNFs | 7 | 3 |
Points | 1 (P20) | 2 (P19) |