Formula 1 is a sport where constant development and improvements over time may not guarantee success, but not being able to improve sure does guarantee failure. And such has been the story for the Haas F1 Team for a couple of seasons now and it left enthusiasts questioning the promises made by Team Principal Guenther Steiner. The 2023 season, marked by persistent challenges and unmet expectations, prompted F1 expert Kees van de Grint to cast a critical eye on Steiner’s ambitious claims and the team’s lackluster progress.

Before the start of the season, Haas Technical Director Simone Resta expressed the team’s commitment to a substantial improvement in its upgrade program for the 2023 season. Financial constraints, a longtime adversary for the team, seemed to be easing with 8th in the Constructors’ Championship position in 2022 and a new title sponsorship deal with MoneyGram. However, the reality on the track did not align with these aspirations.

van de Grint calls out Guenther Steiner for failing to develop their car

While the VF-23 showed promise with impressive qualifying performances from driver Nico Hulkenberg early in the season, the team’s performance took a hit on Sundays. The car’s voracious appetite for Pirelli rubber became a critical issue, preventing it from maintaining pace over a full race distance. The lack of substantial upgrades throughout the season, except for the United States Grand Prix, added to the team’s woes.

Before the GP in Austin, Guenther Steiner spoke optimistically about Haas’ strategy for improvement, stating, “We don’t know how good the upgrade will be, we expect something good out of it. But the best thing is that we’re going in the direction we want to go next year, and we will learn a lot this year for next season.“ However, the much-anticipated upgrade failed to deliver tangible results, forcing Hulkenberg to revert to the old spec car in the last two races.

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In a recent interview, F1 expert Kees van de Grint didn’t mince words when labeling Haas and Steiner’s efforts as a flop show. “Yes, flop is a big word, but not that strong. Then I thought Haas was one. Steiner is always talking about everything, but they bump back there and then there’s no development. I mean, it is very nice, the statements he makes, but yes, that’s actually nothing,“ explained van de Grint.

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However, what was the truth behind Haas not bringing upgrades to their car despite promising a better structure for 2023? There’s only one man who can answer that question, and now he has.

Steiner explains why Haas failed to bring updates to the car in 2023

In the face of mounting criticism, Guenther Steiner addressed the challenges Haas encountered in developing their Formula 1 car during the 2023 season. Contrary to speculations about financial constraints, Steiner emphasized that the team’s struggle was not due to budget limitations, but rather a difficulty in finding performance improvements.

“We got hit pretty badly with not making progress in development,” Steiner told The Race. “We put all the effort in; there was no limitation on effort, and we had the budget to do upgrades. Everybody thinks we don’t do upgrades because we don’t have the money. But we didn’t find any performance; that was the biggest thing.“

According to Steiner, the second obstacle to Haas’ car upgrades was a delayed realization that they were not seeing any results. He acknowledged that the team needed improvement in wind tunnel testing. “And the other thing was that when we realized it was a little bit late, and we should have caught that earlier. We just need to get better in the wind tunnel; otherwise, the team is not too bad. It could always be better, but it’s just that we didn’t find anything,“ Steiner candidly confessed.

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Do you think Haas will be able to solve their tire degradation issue in 2024 or will it continue to haunt the team until the next big rule change in 2026? Let us know your insights in the comments below.