Haas struggles on Sundays: 'Very confident we can solve the issues'
F1 News
- Sam Godber
Haas has a remarkable car in 2023. On Saturday, the VF-23 is competitive and often reaches Q3, but on Sunday, the Haas car is far too slow and so scoring points is very difficult. Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg often struggle with excessive tyre wear during the race and it remains to be seen whether that can be solved in the short term.
On Saturday in qualifying, the VF-23 was strong, especially in Hulkenberg's hands. The German even managed to reach Q3 more often than Sergio Perez in the dominant RB19 in 2023 (5 to 4). On Sunday, however, the points are scored and that is where Haas is struggling. The US team last scored points on Sunday in Miami in May, here Magnussen finished 10th. Hulkenberg scored the last points for Haas in the sprint race in Austria.
Magnussen confident of solution
So for Haas, the most important thing now is to improve the car's race speed. "We’re obviously facing some issues getting competitive on Sunday. We can often be competitive on Saturday in qualifying when we have to do just one lap on the tires on low fuel, but it’s a different story on Sunday. We’re working very
hard to investigate what the cause is and come up with solutions. It’s a collective effort, and everyone is working super hard. I think with all the talent we have in the team, I’m very confident we can solve the issues," Magnussen told a press release from his team.
Teammate Hulkenberg does point out that this problem is unlikely to be solved overnight. "These issues can only be solved when everyone works closely together, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. It might not be a short-term fix but we’re confident we’ll work through them."
Hungaroring good for Haas?
It is difficult to overtake at the Hungaroring, making Saturday of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend very important. This could be an advantage for the American team, although team boss Guenther Steiner does not want to say too much about it yet. "We just go into Hungary with what we know, and know that we need to learn more as well. The best way to learn about a race car is by running it, so Friday practice will be good for us."