Top on one lap, solid in the long run: How good are the Haas updates that put Nico Hülkenberg right in the middle of the world leaders on Friday?
The second free practice session was exactly 33 minutes old when Nico Hülkenberg set a new best time: 1:26.990 minutes on the soft tires, 0.160 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc and 0.243 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen, who had also already completed their fast runs on the red soft. For a moment, the balance of power in Formula 1 2024 at Silverstone seemed to be upside down.
Hülkenberg was able to hold on to fourth place until the end of the session, beaten only by the two McLaren drivers, who are considered favorites at the British Grand Prix, and Sergio Perez, who set his fastest lap quite late when the conditions were at their best. Lando Norris’ best time was 0.441 seconds off the pace. A big surprise.
But it’s not the timesheets that give German Formula 1 fans confidence ahead of qualifying and the race. Rather, it is the small details of the analysis that are encouraging – such as a radio message that was sent to Hülkenberg in between: “Your pace is good. You’re faster than Ricciardo and have less tire degradation than Piastri.”
Or the long run at the end, which Hülkenberg did on the soft tires. It lasted nine laps, and on average the Haas achieved a solid pace of 1:33.3 minutes. By way of comparison, the two Mercedes cars drove 1:32.4 and 1:32.6 respectively on the same Pirelli tires, while Oscar Piastri in the McLaren clocked 1:32.4 minutes. The latter, however, with one lap less.
“It was a good Friday,” summarized Hülkenberg. “This morning I was still driving the car from last week. Then we switched to the upgrades for the second practice session. There are certainly a few differences. It felt positive from the very first moment. The first impression is positive, and that is important and valuable.”
The update that Haas brought to Silverstone is the most extensive of all ten teams: underbody, air intake on the side box, rear-view mirror mount, hood, brake vents – all new, and in some cases clearly visible from the outside.
“Nico could immediately feel a difference in the afternoon,” says a delighted Team Principal Ayao Komatsu. “There are a few things that we still need to fine-tune. But for a first baseline run, we are very happy with what we saw today.”
But only on one side of the garage. Kevin Magnussen, who had sat out the first practice session for Oliver Bearman, finished 20th and last. He was 1.573 seconds off the lead. And he couldn’t coherently explain why. “He wasn’t happy with the car,” reports Komatsu. “We have to find out why Nico is happy and Kevin is not.”
Magnussen himself says: “I didn’t drive FT1. I was just getting into my rhythm, but then it started to rain at the end. I wasn’t able to learn much in the session, but we have another practice tomorrow. To be honest, rain would not be inconvenient for me. But Nico was also fast in the dry, so we’ll take it as it comes.”
Despite the encouraging performance on Friday, it is unlikely that Hülkenberg will be able to maintain fourth place on Saturday and Sunday. The top four teams are most likely out of reach. But a top 10 place in qualifying seems to be within reach, and due to the good tire wear, points could also be possible in the race
