Haas lacking clarity on VF-23 package after US GP debut

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner says the US outfit is unable to judge the efficiency of its updated VF-23 package after a single race weekend, but the Italian believes the US outfit is moving in the right direction.

Haas rolled out a significantly revised car at The Circuit of the Americas, with its Red Bull-inspired changes representing a veritable change of philosophy for the team.

Haas, which was the last outfit on the grid to convert to the bulls’ trademark downwash sidepod concept, is hoping the overhaul will not only improve its car’s aerodynamic efficiency and establish a foundation for next season but also solve its chronic tyre degradation issues.

Although Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg enjoyed a strong opening practice on Friday, both drivers struggled in qualifying and in Saturday’s sprint event, which compelled Haas to pull its cars out of parc fermé to implement changes, a move that resulted in a pitlane start for both cars.

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Hulkenberg and Magnussen finished their US Grand Prix respectively P13 and P16 on the road but were bumped up to P11 and P14 in the final standings following the post-race exclusions of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

"I mean, today was better than yesterday. Thank God we made the decision to go out of the pit lane with the changed aero set up,” commented Steiner after the race, quoted by Motorsport.com.

“Obviously, we now need to look at data and stuff like this to have a better starting position in Mexico with the setup.

“We were a little bit behind, knowing that we only had one hour. It's not like saying that we did a bad job, it was just very tight, such a big upgrade, and going in here.

“But we knew the risk, and we took the risk, but I think we know for sure a lot more now than we did before. And hopefully we can put it into performance in Mexico.”

Steiner admitted that it was too early to properly gauge the potential of Haas’ new package.

"I don't know how good it is yet,” he said. “At least both drivers could race some people today, because the last five [races] we were just being overtaken, and at least we could overtake some people today.

“Are we good enough? No. We need to get more out of it. At least we're moving in the right direction.”

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