Haas is the smallest team in Formula 1 today. One consequence of the ever-limited resources was that the American team’s cars were practically writing off Monaco year after year. Actually, every team here brings a special aero package with extremely high downforce to the narrow street circuit. Not so with Haas. Until now. Suddenly, an unknown optimism sets in.
“We had a pretty good program in terms of high downforce,” praised Ayao Komatsu, who took over the team boss job from Günther Steiner this year. “In previous years we came to Monaco and I knew that as Haas we wouldn’t have a suitable rear wing. But this year there is hope. This is definitely a step in the right direction.”
Not only that – this year’s VF-24 has everything it needs for success in Monaco. The undulating street circuit requires good suspension and predictable handling. Komatsu sees both areas as having been massively improved. Both the aerodynamics developed in-house and the suspension purchased from partner team Ferrari. Komatsu describes the extent of the improvements in drivability as “not negligible”.
Latest Haas updates still cause problems
“The usable performance is wider, which is important for a track like this,” Komatsu analyzes. “I have to remain cautious, but we are definitely going in the right direction for this track.” On top of that, Haas has introduced a large number of new parts over the last few races – compared to the past.
But that dampens the optimism slightly. “We have definitely improved the car, but not as much as expected in the slow corners, for example,” admits Komatsu. “We will probably continue testing in Montreal to look at that.” But on the unique Monaco circuit, you have to live with what you have. You can’t test anything sustainably here.
Nico Hülkenberg, who also only received half of the update package in China, is also having a hard time putting the feeling into words: “The car hasn’t really changed, characteristics haven’t changed. But when I look at the lap times and how competitive we were, it wasn’t bad in Imola, not even in the race.”
Qualifying expert Nico Hülkenberg as Monaco’s trump card?
Finally, it is positive for Haas that they have Hülkenberg in the car. The German has been in every Q3 since the sprint qualifying in China. And in Monaco, overtaking is practically impossible and the job is almost done on Saturday evening.
So is that an advantage? “On paper, yes, but I know Monaco and the laws here, and you also have to find trust in the car and good harmony so that you can achieve something, and a lap here will never be easy,” says Hülkenberg. And the Racing Bulls’ direct competitors have had problems in recent races with strong qualifying pace, as Komatsu reminds us: “In race trim it is balanced, at least it was in Imola, but in qualifying we are a bit behind.”