Nico Hulkenberg (GER) Haas VF-23. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 13, Belgian Grand Prix, Sunday 29th July 2023. Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.
Nico Hulkenberg believes Haas can still remedy its tyre issues this year but has outlined that getting on top of the problem is crucial for its long-term ambitions.
Haas has not scored a point in a grand prix since Miami – the longest drought of any team on the grid – as its lack of pace has been compounded by high tyre degradation.
The team holds eighth place in the Constructors’ Championship, level on points with Alfa Romeo.
Hulkenberg finished as the last of the 18 classified runners at the Belgian Grand Prix, labelling his weekend as “pretty grim” and emphasised the need for progress.
“Yeah we need [the summer break] but what we really need is some upgrades,” he said. “Some real performance to help ourselves.
“That’s what we need, this track again exposes the weaknesses of our car very much. That’s why we’ve not been competitive in any session on any lap really. There’s a lot of work to do. “
“I think we understand the cause and what happens and why it happens but fixing it and bringing loads of performance doesn’t just lay on the street. It’s a bit more complex. We can still improve the situation this year. To what extent? That’s TBC, down to us and we have to prove it. It’s a longer-term thing for sure.”
Haas boss Guenther Steiner added that the squad has to extract itself from its current situation.
“We couldn’t fight with the others and if we go into overtime with our tyres, we just get slower, and that’s what happened again,” he said.
“We know our deficit, we’re working on it and hopefully we can resolve it fast but all in all, the team did a good job.”
Keyword: Hulkenberg hopeful ‘complex’ Haas setbacks fixable in ’23