MoneyGram Haas F1 Team have earned their first point of the season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen finished in tenth and twelfth respectively on Saturday, March 9, at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Ayao Komatsu, Haas Team Principal said: “Today was an amazing team effort and I’m so happy that it was from great teamwork.

“We were fighting for P10 – one point – but against eight other drivers, so everything had to be perfect to take the opportunity.

“Today, Kevin got two penalties, but once we realized he was out of points contention, we made a great call and Kev drove fantastically to hold those guys back while setting a target lap time, and Nico drove faultlessly.

“It was a huge team effort, congratulations to everyone, and I’m really looking forward to the next race.”

Starting in fifteenth Hulkenberg on medium tires and made up one spot on the opening
lap.

As some teams pitted drivers during an early Safety Car period, caused by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll hitting the barrier, Hulkenberg stayed out on track, and was able to use clear air to his advantage.

In tenth place and thanks to a strong defensive drive by team mate Magnussen keeping back a train of cars further down the pecking order, Hulkenberg was able to
emerge from his mandatory pit stop on lap 33 in eleventh.

On the White hard tires and once everyone had pitted, German driver Hulkenberg progressed to tenth earning his and MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s first point of the season.

Speaking after the race Nico Hulkenberg said: “One point is worth a lot these days. It felt like a very clean race, and a really good race by the team strategy-wise.

“We split the cars during the Safety Car which was discussed before the race and that worked out well.

“At the restart when the faster cars disappeared, I managed to get free air, good pace, and a good rhythm.

“I think that was key, but also the teamwork from Kevin today to slow down the others for me to be able to make a pit window.

“It was perfect teamwork, and I’ll return the favor to him later in the season.”

Magnussen started in thirteenth, also on medium tires, and pitted under the Safety Car on lap 7, taking on hard tires.

Sustaining two time penalties, one for a minor collision with the Williams of Alex Albon, and another for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

The Dane came home in eleventh, but dropped to twelfth in the final order once sanctions were applied.

Having finished just outside the points Kevin Magnussen said:“I showed good pace but unfortunately I got two penalties, so that’s not a great day for me of course, but I think I made up for it with the effort in keeping everyone behind to create a gap for Nico to pit.

“He scored a point so that’s super important and right now, I’m not fighting for a championship, so the real fight is in the Constructors’ Championship, and I’m happy that we scored a point today.

It’s huge for the team, we earned it today, and it’s positive that we have the pace – for a second race in a row we’ve shown that we have good pace.”

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team holds sixth position in the Constructors’ Championship.

Up next is the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne with practice starting Friday, March 22, before qualifying on Saturday, March 23 and the race on Sunday, March 24.