Despite a good pace, Haas doesn’t score any points in Bahrain
Haas left empty-handed from the first race of the season despite an encouraging race pace.
After a good winter testing, Kevin Magnussen, eliminated in Q1 on Saturday, made his way up to 13th place in the race. Although the Danish driver was disappointed with this result, he nevertheless drew some positives from the first race of 2023.
« I was pleasantly surprised by our race pace, but I think we didn’t have the right strategy.»
« We still managed to gain a few positions despite starting 17th, but we struggled a lot with tire degradation since Friday, although it was a bit better today. »
« This was not the weekend we wished for, but we have learned a lot. We faced very challenging qualifications after making mistakes with the settings, so we managed to limit the damage today, and now we must continue to progress in preparation for the upcoming races.»
For Nico Hülkenberg, who made it to Q3, the race quickly became hampered by contact on the first lap. An hour and a half later, he crossed the line in 15th position.
« The race was complicated, especially during the first part, » confirms the German driver.
I had contact with someone in the first round that I hadn’t even noticed at first, but it affected our race and it was quite frustrating.
« My front wing was damaged, which caused us to lose downforce and therefore grip. We did our best to hold on, but I was shredding my tires. At least we accumulated experience. »
