2023 was undoubtedly a tough year for Haas, with the team finishing at the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship standings with a total of just 12 points.
Although the VF-23 seemed to show promise, particularly in qualifying—Nico Hulkenberg sensationally secured P2 ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix (ultimately lining up fifth on the grid after a penalty was applied)—the car’s inherent weaknesses prevented the drivers from extracting the maximum across a race distance.
Hulkenberg’s seventh place finish in the chaotic race in Melbourne would prove to be a highlight of the season, marking the team’s best result in 2023. Kevin Magnussen would go on to finish tenth on three occasions—in Saudi Arabia, Miami, and Singapore.
One of the main areas of concern was the car’s excessive tyre degradation, which significantly reduced competitiveness in the actual races, even on weekends where the car qualified well.
Instead of bringing smaller upgrade packages throughout the season, Haas opted to introduce one major late-stage upgrade at their main home race in Austin, in the form of a new spec car.
Photo credit: MoneyGram Haas F1 Team
Explaining the team’s decision, Guenther Steiner revealed that the flawed initial core car concept hindered development, leading Haas to abandon it in favour of the revamped spec introduced in Austin.
“Absolutely, I was surprised—and the problem was we didn’t find performance in the development,” he told the media.
“It wasn’t that we didn’t want to or we couldn’t bring upgrades, we didn’t bring upgrades because bringing an upgrade when you know the car won’t be any faster, there’s no point.
“I mean, obviously it was a surprise that we didn’t make any progress with the development in the wind tunnel, on that side.
“And with the concept, how we started, we just couldn’t find any performance anymore, that’s why we changed concept.
“We used the resources to bring an upgrade in Austin which was a complete revamp of the car, of the bodywork: we used the money there because that was a big one.”
Hulkenberg decided to stick with the old spec, while Magnussen opted for the new spec—but Steiner assured that the drivers’ preferences in that regard won’t cause any headaches for the team going forward, as Haas expect the 2024 challenger to be a blank slate.
“No, I mean there were no regrets or anything. The drivers…they both took…that is what one likes better and that’s what the other one likes better,” said Steiner.
“They both were very outspoken, ‘I like this’ and the other one likes this, so then you don’t argue anymore about it.
“No, [we are not concerned] because next year is a complete new car anyway, and we start from zero.
“You just start fresh, […] next year you start from zero, and you need to develop the car so that the car is faster and the driver likes it better.”
