Steiner says F1 upgrades 'a little bit overrated sometimes'

Haas boss Guenther Steiner says the US outfit will update its VF-22 this season according to a controlled development program, insisting upgrades are "a little bit overrated sometimes".

Through financial necessity, Haas raced a virtually unchanged car for two seasons, save for mandatory changes linked to the modifications of F1's technical regulations.

But this year, Steiner says the team's contender will evolve according to a comprehensive development programme that will implement changes based on a thorough measurement and validation process.

In short, Haas won't be adding upgrades "left and right" for the sake of making changes, insists Steiner.

"We will bring upgrades," said the Haas team boss, quoted by The Race.

"People like to hear we are bringing upgrades, but if you bring upgrades for one, two, three points [of downforce], the part looks different but what does it actually do? That is important for me.

"If you ask an aerodynamicist, they would bring to every grand prix a million dollars' worth of upgrades for one point [of downforce], so that needs to be managed on the budget cup.

"I’m not saying that nobody brings good ones, but I think they are a little bit overrated sometimes.

"I want to stay calm this year – intentionally, not because we haven’t got money.

"I want to get a package together saying ‘this brings a certain amount of points, that we can measure properly, that makes progress, that doesn’t change the balance of the car’ and then introduce it.

"But not just say ‘we need upgrades left right and centre’. Let’s focus on the car, understand it and get the best out of it."

• Read also: Steiner says Magnussen 'matured' in year away from F1

Haas, which enjoyed a remarkable start to its 2022 campaign, courtesy of F1 returnee Kevin Magnussen's pair of top-ten finishes, is trailing its rivals in terms of understanding its new-generation car, largely because of its mileage shortfall in pre-season testing.

Haas therefore needs to improve its knowledge of its VF-22 to better exploit the car's foundation before bolding on new parts.

"The biggest improvement would be the set-up at the moment," said Steiner. "We have done not enough testing, there’s still things to come.

"It’s not that we have a bad set-up but I think there is more in the car if we had more time to work.

"It’s not the guys don’t understand it, it’s just they need to learn about it because in testing we did about half the mileage of the big teams."

Based on Haas' opening two races of 2022, and taking into account several mitigating factors, Steiner makes a case for the US outfit battling consistently this season at the front of F1's midfield.

"Kevin hasn’t driven an F1 car in over a year, never drove [in Jeddah], missed Friday – did three timed laps – and then goes out there and does this lap in qualifying," argued Steiner.

"He couldn’t do a better lap because of his neck. Then in the race he said ‘the car is doing what I want it to do’.

"Obviously, there’s always things to improve, but he said it’s so nice to drive, really competitive. He said ‘I can challenge all the time’, so the car is pretty good.

"And then it’s down to having a good weekend, finding the right set-up and getting the best out of it.

"If you get the best out of it I would say we are in the front end of the midfield."

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