Haas Performance at the Home Race: A Roller Coaster of Emotions!
Well, here we are! The Haas team has certainly turned some heads at their home race in Austin – not so much with drama, but more with that elusive whiff of potential. Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg snatched seventh and eighth places in the sprint. Yes, you heard it right! They didn’t just show up; they arrived like a pair of over-caffeinated squirrels all hopped up on espresso!
Q2 Blues for Hülkenberg
But alas, the saga for Hülkenberg was a bit like a bad sitcom where you kind of laugh but mostly cringe. He struggled with “two brakes” in turn one during his qualifying run. And trust me, for a driver, losing grip in turn one is akin to slipping on a banana peel—hilarious if you’re watching, tragic if you’re behind the wheel. Hülkenberg described his mishap with a pithy “the car felt okay, but…” It’s like saying your holiday was nice despite being stuck on a train in the middle of nowhere.
The poor guy was as confused as a cat at a dog show. “I locked the inner front tire,” he lamented, sounding like the world’s grumpiest GPS. “Your destination is a locked tire, recalculating!” And let’s be honest, it was probably a lot more than just 0.4 seconds he lost. It was his rhythm, his time, and perhaps a wee bit of his sanity.
The Lewis Hamilton Effect: Not Quite
Last I checked, there’s no rub-your-lucky-charm and make it right section on the Haas setup guide. Hülkenberg went back into analysis mode, trying to dissect his underwhelming lap times like a mad scientist (minus the lab coat). “I couldn’t get it on the track, especially in turn one,” he stated. Honestly, if “turn one” was a villain in a superhero movie, it could wear a cape made of all the drivers it’s taken down through the years!
Haas—The Little Team That Could?
But hey, the glass isn’t just half-full; it’s overflowing with potential! Hülkenberg is still positive about the Haas speed, “We don’t have to hide,” he insists, as if the car will sprout wings and fly off the grid. He has a point though – the Haas machinery has showcased speed this weekend. If only they could take that momentum into the qualifying rounds. And here’s a tip to Hülkenberg: maybe avoid a warm-up lap next time. It seems like an unpleasant breakfast smoothie for the brakes.
Beneath the flurry of feelings, there’s still that lingering notion: “the potential is there.” After missing out on Q3 by a mere seven hundredths of a second, it’s like when you’re at a party and just miss the last slice of pizza – you can almost taste it! As Hülkenberg coolly puts it, “We just have to implement it properly tomorrow,” aka, don’t fumble like a toddler with a lollipop.
The Grand Jazz of Strategy
As the day of reckoning approaches, the focus shifts to tires and strategy—because we all know half the battle in F1 is not just speed but playing the smart game. It’s like chess, but with brawn and glam! The only thing better than a car that goes fast is a car that goes fast AND knows how to dodge flying debris and awkward press conferences. In Hülkenberg’s eyes, “We will be competitive,” and honestly, that’s a sentiment every F1 fan wants to hear with a side of popcorn.
The Final Lap
As the race day looms and Austin gets ready to rock ‘n’ roll, Haas is aiming for glory one pit stop at a time. Whether they take the lead for good or end up trailing behind, at least we know that there’s plenty of wild humor, epic struggles, and a whole lot of heart on the grid. So, buckle up, folks! It’s going to be a thrilling ride—hopefully with fewer banana peels for Hülkenberg in Turn One!
Photo: Motorsport Images
Haas’ strong performance at the home race continues: After seventh and eighth places for Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg in the sprint, the Dane also underlined the good form of the US racing team in Austin in ninth place in qualifying.
On the other hand, teammate Hülkenberg was frustrated because two brakes in turn one in the second qualifying segment cost him his place in the next round – at the start of the sprint, Hülkenberg lost positions at exactly this point: “The car felt okay, but unfortunately it was “My two laps in Q2 weren’t great, they weren’t clean, and both times I was caught cold in turn one,” reports the German after qualifying.
“Both laps in Q2 were not completed, wheel locked both times, inner front tire,” describes Hülkenberg Sky his difficulties: “I don’t know, it felt strange and I lost a lot of time.” The Haas driver calculates at least four tenths: “Otherwise it would have been easy-peasy, but unfortunately that’s how it is, when mistakes creep in, then you bleed.”
Hülkenberg: “Didn’t get it on track”
The 37-year-old first has to go into a detailed analysis to find out exactly what the problem was: “I have to look at it, it happened on more than one lap. As a result, I lost my rhythm and confidence, that was annoying – and Bad timing, of course.”
Problem area curve one: Hülkenberg struggled with it all day long
Foto: Motorsport Images
The conclusion to qualifying was “not very positive,” says Hülkenberg Hello TV: “I think it’s good and promising in terms of speed. But unfortunately I had a problem with the implementation today, I couldn’t get it on the track, especially in turn one,” which the Haas driver sees as his “problem point”.
“The rest was, I think, very good in terms of the sector times. But unfortunately I had already lost too much and then unfortunately I narrowly missed out at the end.” For Hülkenberg it is clear: “Actually, I could have or should have been there in Q3, whatever, and I think we would have had a good chance of P8, P9, somewhere behind the top cars.”
Haas with potential: “We don’t have to hide”
The Haas driver is only seven hundredths short of qualifying for the next round in Q2, but despite finishing twelfth he remains confident for the race: “We don’t have to hide,” believes Hülkenberg, and is convinced that Haas will be there again on Sunday. “will be competitive”: “The potential is there.”
The Emmericher bases this primarily on the fact that “we’ve just shown good pace so far this weekend. You saw that this morning and I think there’s no reason why we can’t repeat that tomorrow. We’re fast , as far as the midfield is concerned.” Hülkenberg is aware of what is important for him and his men on Sunday:
Starting position twelfth: In the race, Hülkenberg has something to gain from Haas’ pace
Foto: Motorsport Images
“We just have to implement it properly tomorrow. Strategy and tires will of course play an important role tomorrow, as always, and we just have to be on the right side of that.” The veteran doesn’t want to make a final assessment of where Haas stands with the latest updates to his car on day two in Austin:
“It’s still early. Kevin was on the road this morning without the upgrades, and also strong – so I think our package is generally performing quite well here,” says Hülkenberg: “It’s not a step like in Silverstone, here “It’s a lot less what we have. But after this weekend we have more time to analyze everything and hopefully we can learn from it and extract even more.”
