Nico Hülkenberg is not a fan of Haas’ austerity measures and agrees with his former team boss: “What we are currently doing is not enough!”
Nico Hülkenberg has backed his former team boss Günther Steiner and emphasized that the current investments in Haas are not enough for better results. Steiner had repeatedly called for investments in the racing team, but team owner Gene Haas did not want to make them – as a result, his expiring contract was not extended for 2024
Hülkenberg currently still has a contract for this season, but is taking the same line as the South Tyrolean. Because with the current path, Haas had slipped back to last place in the team standings in 2023. “What we are currently doing is not enough,” the German told auto motor und sport. Tenor: “We have to improve.”
But Haas does not want to do that at the moment. Rather, he is pushing to make the most of the existing resources, which could be used to get even more out of them than before – according to the American.
For Hülkenberg, it’s all a question of ambition. “Where do you want to go as a team, what are you prepared to invest?” Gene Haas has to ask himself this question, because the German does not believe that much can be achieved with the status quo in today’s Formula 1 – despite a supposed equalization due to the budget limit.
While competitors such as Williams and Racing Bulls are currently investing heavily in new facilities, Haas is continuing with the austerity measures that have been in place since the team was founded.
But Hülkenberg says: “It feels like the air has become thinner. The budgets are still extremely high. The budget cap is not quite the reality. What was still possible in 2016 and 2017 has now become a bit more difficult. “
Hülkenberg appears to be facing another difficult season with Haas. The statements from those responsible before the test drives in Bahrain, which start today, were not very positive. New team boss Ayao Komatsu had already announced that the car was not good enough. Haas had started late with the new car and made a late concept change.
Incidentally, the new VF-24 was shown live for the first time in the Bahrain pit lane on Wednesday morning when it was rolled in front of the garage – also a sign of an austerity course. While other teams held launches in Las Vegas and New York, Haas left it at renderings of a customized 2023 car.
On Monday, the team completed a few laps in Bahrain as part of a permitted filming day. Today, they will meet the entire competition for the first time in Sachir.
All of this happens with an unfamiliar sight on the command stand, because Günther Steiner, who launched the team, is no longer there. Hülkenberg emphasizes that he always had a “very good working relationship” with Steiner and that they both got on well with each other.
“What will I miss? His sense of humor,” he says. “We have a very similar sense of humor and, despite our seriousness, we liked to take the mickey out of each other from time to time. That was a cool understanding and a good working relationship with a team boss. I’d never experienced it like that before. “
