Haas F1 can draw positive lessons from the season opener in Bahrain, despite losing Nico Hülkenberg early due to a start error.
The German fell back in the field and couldn’t showcase his race pace, but in terms of tire degradation, there was significant improvement over 2023. He still managed to finish 16th, ahead of the Alpines, a Stake F1, and a Williams!
“It’s very frustrating and disappointing, similar to last year’s scenario at turn 4. On a positive note, our race pace and tire degradation seemed quite reasonable compared to others in the midfield, and I think we are competing with Williams, Sauber, and RB, so we take that as a positive.”
“There’s more to come after today, with things to improve and optimize. Jeddah is obviously a very different track with completely different characteristics, so we’ll see what we get there, but we feel we have a much better base to work from compared to last year.”
Magnussen’s Near-Point Finish in Bahrain
Kevin Magnussen finished 12th, just seconds away from the last point scored by Lance Stroll.
“I’m fairly happy – not overjoyed, as we didn’t score points – but it seems we have a car that’s a bit better with tires this year, not necessarily faster than last year but at least better on tires, and I think we demonstrated that today.”
“However, it’s only one track, one type of asphalt, and one set of conditions, so we still need to prove it elsewhere. This concludes a few good weeks of running, the team has done a great job, and we are in a good position – we just need to find more.”
Haas F1: Komatsu’s Promising Start
Ayao Komatsu, the new team director, can be pleased with his debut at the helm of Haas F1.
“Okay, it wasn’t the perfect race, Nico had a bad start and damaged his front wing, which basically meant his race was over at that point. Kevin’s race showed that we can fight this year. We don’t have the best degradation, but at least in the midfield, we can fight for points. We didn’t execute a perfect strategy, but even there, Kevin fought in the midfield until the final moments, which was extremely positive. We know the margin for error is very, very small, so we need to step up our efforts in that area as well. There are huge positives to take from this weekend, and I look forward to another opportunity next weekend. We are really looking forward to putting on a strong show in Jeddah.”
Haas F1 Bahrain 2024. Haas F1 Bahrain 2024
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