Haas brings a new upgrade to Zandvoort, which is also related to tyre temperatures: Does it help find the track?
Haas has its work cut out ahead of the start of the second half of the 2023 Formula 1 season. The racing team has lagged somewhat behind its own expectations this year, sitting in eighth position in the constructors’ standings with eleven points.
However, there hasn’t been much for the team in recent races: sixth place in the sprint at Spielberg is the only points result for Haas since the home race in Miami. This also means that they have gone empty-handed on the past seven Sundays.
“I think it’s clear that we didn’t finish the first half of the season the way we wanted to,” says Kevin Magnussen, who has only managed to score two points this year. “That’s why we are all very eager to make a comeback during the season.”
“I think we can do it,” the Dane continues, drawing encouragement from the improvements made by the likes of McLaren during the season: “We have seen that some teams have made good progress and that has been both motivating and annoying. It shows that if they can do it, we can do it.”
Magnussen wants to start the second half of the season with this mentality: “I feel that we are in a good position as a team, but with the car we are lagging a bit. I’m looking forward to the challenge and working hard to get to where we want to be.”
So far this season the big issue at Haas has been that high tyre wear in the race has undone all the good qualifying positions, but Nico Hülkenberg, who has managed to get into Q3 six times, says: “We just have to keep doing what we’re doing. “
“Of course we are looking for performance and we want to get better, we want to get more results and points,” said the German. “That just means we have to work, bring updates and maximise all the chances we get, keep the mistakes to a minimum and that will take the best effort and teamwork from everyone.”
A number of updates will be coming to the VF-23 at the upcoming race at Zandvoort, team principal Guenther Steiner has revealed. Haas is planning improvements to the front wing and brake ducts. Especially the latter should not only make the car faster, but also help with the tyre temperatures.
In addition, according to the South Tyrolean, the team is “working flat out” on other modifications that will come later in the season.
“We continue to work, and there are two reasons for that. Firstly, to try and make the car faster, as is always the case with upgrades, but also to know the direction for the VF-24, which is just as important, if not more so,” he clarifies. “There’s a lot of hard work that’s almost as intense as the development of the new car in December.”
What else will be in it for the American racing team this year remains to be seen. Alfa Romeo is two points behind, and on the other hand, a meagre one point is currently enough to move ahead of Williams, who are level on points.
