Haas approaching Austrian GP as 'test session' to solve issues

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Haas team boss Guenther Steiner says the US outfit will approach its Austrian Grand Prix "a little bit like a test session" in a bid to get to the bottom of its car's race pace troubles.

Haas' VF-23 has demonstrated impressive speed in qualifying trim, with Kevin Magnussen qualifying fourth in Miami and Nico Hulkenberg clocking in a remarkable P2 in Montreal's Saturday dry-to-wet shootout.

However, race day has so far been a very different story for Haas, with tyre degradation issues persistently undermining its drivers' efforts.

Haas' engineers have been challenged by the problem and are working hard to uncover the root cause for the VF-23's voracious appetite for its tyres.

"We’re investigating the very good performance we have in qualifying and not-so-good performance during the race at the moment," explained Steiner ahead of this weekend round of racing at the Red Bull Ring.

"We’re trying to pinpoint it but for the next races we’re maybe going to try and find a sweeter spot between the two sessions, qualifying and the race, so something in the middle.

Read also: Haas took ‘one way street in the wrong direction’ in Montreal

"We’re working very hard to try and find out why the discrepancy of being very fast and not so good in the race is happening.

"We’ve got a few leads and for sure it will impact the VF-24 design. We obviously have to take that feature out of the car next year."

©Haas

In Austria, teams will be racing twice as the event is the second Sprint race weekend of the season after Baku.

Steiner says Haas will use both races at the Red Bull Ring as test sessions to explore potential solutions to its car's degradation plight.

"We’re going into this race partly a little bit like a test session as well," he added.

"We have a lot of things to try and cure our problems with the race pace, so we have a few ideas.

"As we have two races now this weekend, we’ve got double the amount of time to try to do different things.

"Obviously, we always try to get the best result possible but also maybe we compromise the best result possible for really understanding what is happening with our car on race day."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.