Haas will unveil the livery of its 2023 car, the VF-23, on Tuesday, in which the focus will be on completing a championship with more consistent results after an eventful 2022 season.
Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the team had cut ties with Nikita Mazepin and with the sponsor Uralkali on the eve of the last World Cup, but on the track it was able to recover, returning to the midfield fight.
Haas’ fluctuating form meant that they were unable to move beyond eighth in the standings at the end of the season, but they still enjoyed a moment of glory thanks to the driver who replaced Mazepin, Kevin Magnussen, who in Brazil achieved the team’s first pole in F1.
Discussing the Haas ups and downs in a late-season interview, Steiner told Motorsport.com: “If you could have more consistent form during the championship, that would be better. But as long as you can have some ups, that’s fine.” .
“An ups and downs requires a lot of energy, because there are good moments in which you fly and difficult phases in which you have to recover. So it’s very complicated”.
“But in the end, it’s better to have [un andamento come] the roller coaster that you just have a tough time like in 2021.”
Due to the decision not to develop the car to focus its resources on the new technical regulations for 2022, Haas had failed to score points in 2021. The decision to field two rookie drivers, in Mazepin and F2 champion Mick Schumacher, meant that they also lacked the experience needed to make the team progress.
This year Haas will take a profoundly different approach with its line-up than it did in 2021, having replaced Schumacher with veteran Nico Hulkenberg. Together with Magnussen, the American team’s driver duo will boast over 300 F1 starts, making them one of the most experienced teams on the entire grid.
Nico Hulkenberg engaged in tests for the seat of the new single-seater. The German will replace Mick Schumacher in 2033.
Photo by: Haas F1 Team
It is Steiner’s hope that Hulkenberg’s experience will help ensure that some of the highlights of 2022 are repeated more regularly throughout this year.
“We know we can do it, but we have to do it consistently. This is what we are working on and this is one of the reasons why we hired an expert rider. It is not just one thing that improves, but many small things”, explained the Team Principal.
“As a team, we have to improve: we have to improve processes, we have to give people the right tasks, find good people to do certain things. There are many small challenges to make this happen”.
“If everything works, he’s ahead. But if one of the things doesn’t work, it’s over. It’s kind of a work in progress.”
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