The tail light in the world championship: detailed shots of the few updates to the Haas VF-23 of Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen in the 2023 Formula 1 season
Haas team boss Günther Steiner had high hopes for the only major update for the VF-23 in the final phase of the 2023 Formula 1 season, but these hopes were dashed: Despite the new parts, Haas with Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen remained at the bottom of the Formula 1 standings after the US Grand Prix in Austin
With just five points finishes in 22 Grands Prix, the US team lost out to Alfa Romeo by four points in the “basement duel” and remained well behind AlphaTauri and Williams – teams that had finished behind Haas in 2022.
For long stretches of the 2023 season, Haas simply lacked the necessary development. However, the team led by Hülkenberg and Magnussen did take small steps, as our technical photo gallery proves: it shows minor adjustments to the Haas VF-23, which should help to better adapt the car to the individual circuits on the Formula 1 calendar.
However, it is also clear that Haas was less innovative than other teams and only decided to adopt the trend of downwash sidepods for itself with its USA update. This means that the US racing team hesitated the longest to adopt this design trend, which the nine other teams had already implemented earlier
Hülkenberg criticizes Haas
And so Haas is required to develop more efficiently in 2024. Because in 2023, the team was “not good enough”, as Hülkenberg explained to Sky after the season finale in Abu Dhabi
His criticism mainly relates to the USA update, which should have been “better” and solved “some of the problems”. Hülkenberg’s conclusion: “We have to do better next year.”
Although Haas practically “never had the pace” to finish in the points under its own steam, Hülkenberg is not discouraged. He has taken away “positive feelings and perceptions” from the 2023 Formula 1 season and is “eager for more”, says the German. Postscript: He hopes to be able to “fight a bit again” in the new year with a better package