Hülkenberg Confirms Haas Upgrades for Crucial Sprint Weekend

Haas F1 heads to Austin with a special livery and crucial upgrades, aiming to impress their home crowd at the US GP.

The Haas F1 team will feature a special livery (see photos) for this weekend’s United States GP, the team’s home race. Nico Hülkenberg is excited that Haas can race in front of their fans in Austin. The German driver confirms that the VF-24 will have new parts this weekend, and he hopes for a strong result, though the Sprint format will be challenging to manage.

“The United States Grand Prix is undoubtedly one of the most important races of the year for us, as we have many American partners and, of course, our local fans,” the American team’s driver emphasized.

“This is a race where the fans are very knowledgeable about F1, and it’s incredibly motivating to see the support from over 400,000 people during the weekend. We are bringing a new upgrade to this race, and with it being a Sprint weekend, every lap on track will matter.”

Kevin Magnussen also highlights the importance of the Austin race for the entire Haas organization and the drivers who will be racing in front of American fans: “I’m really looking forward to our home race. It’s obviously an important event for us, and one where there’s extra motivation to perform well.”

“The COTA is a fantastic circuit, and it’s one of the biggest crowds of the year. We’ve had both good and bad races there, but we should be quite strong this year, as it’s a medium-downforce track, which tends to suit us. I’ve had some good battles there in the past, and I hope to score points.”

Andrea De Zordo, Haas F1’s technical director, outlines the challenge Austin presents, particularly with the resurfacing that has been done. He also provides details on the upgrade the team is introducing this weekend.

“In Austin, we’re bringing our main update for the latter part of the season, which will primarily involve a new stage of development in the floor and bodywork. The aim, as always, is to increase aerodynamic load to make the car faster,” De Zordo explained.

“It’s hard to make a big step in lap time, so we’re talking small margins, but in the tight midfield battle, every small step is important, and we hope to achieve that. This is a development and evolution of our package, not something brand new, though the car will look a little different.”

“The Circuit of the Americas is quite demanding for the cars, tires, and also for the drivers, as historically, it’s a very bumpy track. Last year, we didn’t score points, but it was still a decent race for us, and I think it should be a good race for us again this year.”

“We’re fighting for sixth place, and it’s a great feeling. We have to do everything we can to achieve that, as it would be fantastic for all the team members who have worked so hard to make this season a success.”