BARCELONA, Spain -- Haas driver Kevin Magnussen is keen to sustain his current level of performance on-track to avoid building "bad momentum" away from it.
Magnussen helped convert Haas's strong form into a good haul of points on Sunday, avoiding any drama at the start to comfortably win the battle of midfield runners behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. The Danish driver has comfortably out-performed struggling teammate Romain Grosjean this season and has remained one of the standout performers.
When asked if this is the best he feels he's driven in F1 so far, he said: "Yes, it is.
"I am gaining in experience as I had one year out of Formula One straight after my first season and getting back in a difficult situation. So now I want to build momentum and I have a good car which helps to build even more momentum. This weekend we've been, in our league, at the front and only the top three teams are out front."
Despite his form on the track, Magnussen has found himself defending from criticism away from it. The Danish driver has forged a reputation for tough racing which has not always endeared himself to rivals, while Pierre Gasly labelled him the "most dangerous" driver he had ever faced after an incident in Baku.
Magnussen apologised to Gasly for that incident before Spain, while also clarifying some comments made during the weekend, but spent the early part of the weekend answering questions about it, something he clearly was uncomfortable doing. On Friday, the Danish driver brushed off questions about an incident where he had appeared to block Sauber's Charles Leclerc in a practice session.
Magnussen admits he was caught by surprise by the amount of speculation about that incident but said a strong performance on track was a good way to divert attention.
"I seem to have ended up in some trouble lately but I think sometimes you get into those bad momentum in terms of having incidents with other drivers. I'm not intending it to happen I just feel I've made some small errors and been a bit unaware and ended up in this situation. We are performing well and scoring points which is the most important thing."