During pre-season testing, the car regularly showed pace, and proved to be the fastest amongst the midfield runners, with the car being noted for its lap times, although it was noted to suffer from reliability related issues, which curtailed running. During the opening race of the season, the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen finished 6th, from 7th on the grid, and was the first of the midfield runners to cross the finish line, seemingly validating the testing times. Romain Grosjean retired from the race, due to a damaged wheel nut, which subsequently failed mid-race following his pitstop.