How Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg explains his drop from P5 to P15 in the Formula 1 race in Canada and what his team must do now.
The dream of points in the Canadian Grand Prix 2023 in Montreal lived for exactly ten laps for Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg. Then it was clear: It would remain a dream. Because for the only German in Formula 1, the race on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve didn’t go according to plan: In the end, Hülkenberg only finished P15 and didn’t have any championship points.
His conclusion: “It was a one-way street in the wrong direction. We expected that in a way, but of course you always hope for the best. That things go better than in the previous race. But [das Ergebnis] shows that we still have a lot of work to do.”
Because once out of the top 10, there was no turning back for Hulkenberg in the Haas VF-23. “It’s like what happened in Barcelona again: we just don’t have the pace, especially when we have to fight other cars. We lose a disproportionately high amount of downforce and grip. Accordingly, we are tough on the tires,” explains Hulkenberg.
At first, Haas pilot Hülkenberg stayed in the top 10
“Unfortunately, that’s happening in the most recent races, it’s becoming a bit of a trend. And yes, that kills us on Sundays,” the Haas driver continued. “It’s our biggest issue that we have to work on at full speed. There’s no point in having nice Saturdays when Sundays are always such a downer.”
Hülkenberg initially kept up well in the race. Starting from fifth on the grid, he only had to bow down to Esteban Ocon in the Alpine in the early stages and then drove for many laps in sixth place, but always under pressure from his pursuers. And as early as lap eleven, Hülkenberg, as the third driver, made the first pit stop to get fresh tires.
What he could not have guessed at the time: A safety car phase followed on lap twelve and enabled most of his competitors to make a “free stop” without losing much time. Hülkenberg, on the other hand, had stopped under the green and fell back to P15.
Hulkenberg: Haas problem cannot be solved with set-up
The German takes it easy and says on “Sky”: “I was lucky on Saturday with the red flag, on Sunday I was unlucky with the safety car in terms of timing. It actually came out right after my pit stop.”
“But even without that, I don’t think we would have gotten any points. We’re a long way behind and we had problems with the pace again after that. Maybe it was tire management, but not so much wear and tear. I don’t know. We were lacking in the Compared to our direct opponents simply on pace.”
The knowledge of the weakness in the race is “currently a bitter pill,” admits Hulkenberg. “But we have to think long-term and strive for a long-term solution. We can’t just do something with the set-up to get things under control. There are bigger problems.”
His Haas team is aware of this and “we are working on it,” assures Hülkenberg. “But a longer-term strategy is needed to improve the situation.”
The duel situation brings Haas and Hülkenberg to their knees
Team boss Günther Steiner thinks the same way and finds clear words after the race: “It’s pretty clear that we should be better than this result, because that’s very disappointing.”
According to Steiner, the Haas VF-23 gets into trouble “as soon as we get into traffic and end up behind other cars. Then the wear and tear is gigantic. We can’t get the tire performance back and then we fall behind,” explains Steiner. “You can see it very clearly: As soon as we get involved in a duel from the free drive, then it goes downhill.”
“But we know what we have to look out for and we will look for a solution. Because we cannot hide behind good qualifying results.”
Not only was Haas’s poor racing performance noticed, but also the absence of the two Haas drivers at the beginning of the drivers’ parade before the Grand Prix: Kevin Magnussen was five minutes late, Hülkenberg even eight minutes. Both were given a warning for this.
The only ray of hope for Haas pilot Hülkenberg
The reason given by the sports stewards: “Before the drivers’ parade, the drivers still had to attend media events and commercial activities for their team. However, we do not consider these to be valid reasons for the delay. Because if a driver is late for such a thing, it can be undesirable have consequences for the event. This must be avoided at all times.”
Despite everything, there was a ray of hope for Hülkenberg in the race: In the second phase of the race, he “had fun at work” when he “fought for 15th place with Zhou towards the end for a few laps”. “There was a lot going on,” says Hulkenberg. “Those are the moments that are still fun.”
In contrast to this is the initial phase in the Grand Prix, “when you [von den hinterherfahrenden Autos] is just bombed and just barely gets away,” says Hulkenberg. “It’s not that fun, but that’s the way it is.”
All the more he longs for the next race in Austria. Hülkenberg is asked what comes to mind first. He replies: “Short round. Good schnitzel. Lots of trees. I’m looking forward to it!”