Magnussen pleasantly surprised by Haas’ progress on degradation

Haas has made new modifications to its cars. The single-seaters have completely changed their side pods, taking inspiration from the model used by Red Bull in the past two years.

Despite the innovations brought to the Circuit of the Americas, there are few reasons for satisfaction for Gunther Steiner’s team. Haas has lost its 9th place in the constructors’ standings and is no longer able to score points.

Improvements noted by pilots

At the three Grand Prix races where the cars underwent modifications, the best performance was achieved by Nico Hülkenberg, who finished 11th. However, Kevin Magnussen was forced to retire on two occasions. The drivers are aware of the problems and difficulties with their car. Nevertheless, at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Danish driver stated that he had noticed improvements, especially regarding tire wear, which is one of the major issues with the car.

“« What intrigues me is whether this new aerodynamic style helps us solve our tire problem,” Magnussen stated. “« For that, we need more data. Overall, we’re probably struggling on one lap, but one lap and race pace are different things. In terms of pace, the tire performance is slightly better at the end of stints, and I think we’ve noticed some positive signs. It hasn’t solved the problem, but it may have improved the situation. And that’s one of the things that seems interesting to me for next year.”

Haas better in development

The American team seems to be starting to understand the performance characteristics of its latest upgrade. With these latest improvements, it is the last team in the championship to abandon the traditional design. After redesigning its pontoons, the VF-23 arrived in Brazil with a new top wing on its rear. Before the start of the 2023/24 development period, Haas finally aligned itself with the “same level” of design as its competitors.

This upgrade here is like the first conceptual design of the car, explained Kevin Magnussen. Without any development, it was simply drawing a new car and putting it on the right track. Usually, you spend a lot of time developing, but we were almost driving the first produced prototype, without much actual development. We designed a new and different car, but there is no need to worry about our choice to abandon our previous vehicle.

There are only two races left for Haas to try new modifications for next season.