Kevin Magnussen (DEN) Haas VF-23. 01.09.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 15, Italian Grand Prix, Monza, Italy, Practice Day.
Kevin Magnussen rued having “no pace at all” during the Italian Grand Prix, adding that the race demonstrated Haas has a “steep hill to climb.”
The two Haas cars trailed home 17th and 18th place at Monza as the only laps to be lapped and last of the classified runners.
Although the American outfit showcased encouraging pace throughout practice with both cars inside the top 10 in FP3, neither driver progressed into Q3 on Saturday.
Nico Hulkenberg managed to climb to 10th on the opening lap, but a continuation of Haas’ race day woes saw him tumble down the order the longer stints progressed.
Whilst every other team was able to utilise the optimal one-stop strategy, Haas’ tyre wear issues resigned Hulkenberg and Magnussen to pitting for a second time.
Magnussen believes the outing at Monza was “probably the worst race” of the year for Haas, having been left perplexed by its alarming performance slump from practice.
“It was probably the worst race [this year] as we just had no pace at all, the tires were falling apart and there was no balance. We have a steep hill to climb,“ he admitted.
“It’s really confusing though because in FP3 we were P7, and today we were the slowest by a big margin. There was just no pace – we need to turn this ship around.”
Nico Hulkenberg (GER) Haas VF-23. 03.09.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 15, Italian Grand Prix, Monza, Italy, Race Day.
Meanwhile, Hulkenberg echoed the comments of his team-mate, conceding that Haas never looked likely to threaten the points places at the Temple of Speed.
Another strong result for Williams with Alex Albon coming home seventh has opened the gap between the two sides in the Constructors’ Championship to 10 points.
Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas’ 10th place finish for Alfa Romeo now means Haas is currently experiencing the longest run without a point.
However, Hulkenberg is optimistic that the step forward Haas made last weekend around the high-downforce Zandvoort circuit will stand the team in good stead to be more competitive in Singapore next time out.
“The start was pretty much the only positive to be honest, the only bit of fun, after that very hard work,” Hulkenberg lamented. “We had no performance, no balance and not good tyre management or life, so it was pretty hard work out there. Frankly, we were far from points-worthy this weekend.
“I think in Zandvoort we had made some progress, but it was somehow hidden by race circumstances, but I feel the pace was heading in the right direction.
“Zandvoort is high-downforce, Singapore is high-downforce, so I feel and hope that things will get back to normal and we can at least be competitive in the midfield.”
Keyword: Magnussen: Monza struggles show Haas have a ‘steep hill to climb’