Haas Drivers Respond To Finishing Outside Of Points Despite Significant Upgrade

Wednesday, 25 October 2023 at 01:00

Haas F1 team drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen reflected on the 2023 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.

Haas is currently standing in the 9th position in the Constructors' Championship. The team has been struggling to achieve points ever since the Miami Grand Prix.

Therefore, the significant upgrades brought to Austin (home soil for the team) created hopes for many Haas fans. However, the American team had a difficult time adjusting the cars to suit the track.

After both drivers failed to make it to Q3 on Friday's qualifying, Haas made significant adjustments to their car and undertook the penalty of starting from the pit lane.

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The race did not turn out much better for the drivers even after the changes, as Kevin Magnussen finished in P16 and Nico Hulkenberg in P13.

After the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, both Haas drivers moved up two positions, but even that was not enough to score points. As reported by Formula 1 , Magnussen told media after the race.

"I think the race was better because of the changes we made. It still wasn’t enough, though we weren’t fast enough, and we finished in the position we started in from the pit lane, so we need to find more, but we live to fight another day."

Magnussen concluded that the car setup was much better after changes for the race. His teammate Hulkenberg agreed when he told the media:

"The car felt better, and I think the relative performance looked a lot more promising than yesterday, but it came at a price, having to start from the pit lane."

Hulkenberg added he thinks Haas could have aimed for points during the United States Grand Prix if the team could have started from the midfield with the upgraded car.

"There are some positives and encouraging signs, but at the same time, it was difficult out there with a lot of tire management going on, but that was the case for everyone."