Nico Hulkenberg finishes 11th for Haas, closely behind Tsunoda in a race marked by strategic battles and near points finish.
Nico Hulkenberg finished just outside the points for Haas F1 in 11th place, narrowly behind Yuki Tsunoda, who was the sole driver outside the top 5 teams to break into the top 10, benefiting from Lance Stroll’s underperformance at Suzuka.
The German was only 5 seconds behind the Japanese but expressed few regrets.
“I don’t think we could have aimed for more than 10th place. Tsunoda was 50 seconds off Hamilton, so I lacked the pace to wedge myself between him and the Mercedes. My start was initially good, then very poor: the car went into anti-stall. Following that, I kept my head down because I believe my pace was quite good.”
“I embarked on a long stint on hard tires at the start, followed by a rapid pit stop to switch to the second set of tires, which really allowed me to pick up the pace.”
“I view our race pace as positive, better than I anticipated before the race, which is a relief and promising for China and the future.”
Magnussen’s Resilience: Haas Gains Momentum at Suzuka
Kevin Magnussen, finishing 13th behind his teammate and Stroll, also found encouragement in Haas F1’s race pace. The issues with long stints appear to be a thing of the past after the challenging Suzuka test.
“At one point, I was in the top 10 – I wasn’t sure about the strategies of those around me, so I wasn’t certain it was realistic – but I kept pushing.”
“The tires we had, combined with the red flag, actually benefited some people as they managed with just one stop, whereas I had to switch from mediums to hards, requiring two stops. I had to pit quite early for my second stint on hards, which was a bit tricky.”
“We’re back in contention in the races, so it’s encouraging and offers some hope for the upcoming races that we can consistently vie for points.”
Hulkenberg’s Narrow Miss: 11th at Suzuka. Hulkenberg’s Narrow Miss: 11th at Suzuka
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