Haas To Run Two Different Cars In Las Vegas Because Of Their Drivers

Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 05:00

Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner explained to the media ahead of the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix why his drivers will be running two different cars for the weekend.

Haas is getting into a bit of trouble as the team has not scored a single point during the last five race grand prix races. The team found itself in a tricky situation after the 2023 United States Grand Prix.

Haas introduced new upgrades to their cars for the weekend in Austin. However, these upgrades did not bring any significant progress in performance, and neither Kevin Magnussen nor Nico Hulkenberg could score points.

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While the Danish driver likes new upgrades on the car more, Hulkenberg has expressed his dissatisfaction after the Mexico City Grand Prix, saying he thought the old car would perform better.

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner revealed Hulk will run the old-spec car during the Las Vegas Grand Prix, whereas Magnussen will go with the newer version:

“"The main drive behind this was Nico feels that for him, the old spec suits him better, and Kevin is the opposite. We’ve opted to give them what they want, we have two races to go and nothing to lose, so we’ve tried to do what we can"”

It seems like a great strategic move to have both pilots run different spec cars so the team can compare the data, but Seiner says it's more about the driver's preference.

“"We could discuss gathering data, but we’ve got enough data, it’s a decision based on what each driver likes more than anything else."”

Haas stands last in the Constructors' Championship, four points behind Alfa Romeo. With only two races remaining in the season, Steiner wants drivers to perform at their best, and they need to feel comfortable in order to do that.