Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
With the team about to reach a milestone, Haas previews the Monaco Grand Prix
In their media preview ahead of the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg, along with Team Principal Guenther Steiner, boiled the key factor for Haas this week down to one word.
Communication.
As we have discussed throughout this week, qualifying is critical in Monaco. With overtaking coming at a premium on the streets of Monte Carlo, starting up front is crucial. While the three outline how important Saturday is, they also point to communication between the drivers, and the team, as an essential component of a successful Monaco Grand Prix.
As well as a successful qualifying session.
“Qualifying is the most important part of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. It’s a very small track and traffic at the end of the lap before you start a flying lap can often be a challenge. Communication with the team and trying to set yourself up with a little bit of extra tire temperature and brake temperature before having to bunch up in the queue before you start your lap is important,” said Magnussen in the team’s pre-race media report.
“It’s also a little random, so it’s hard to fully prepare for, you’ve just got to be mindful and just try to make the best out of Turn 1 as you’re often going to arrive there with cold tires and brakes so it’s a bit of a compromise,” added the driver.
“Communication is the key,” added Hülkenberg. “In order to ‘survive’ on this narrow track with no real straights, every team and their driver have to be prepared for the many imponderables at all times.”
For Steiner, an important aspect of crisp communication between the team and the drivers is keeping the drivers in a good place mentally. Given the stress of an F1 race to begin with — which is magnified by the challenges posed by the Monaco circuit — keeping the drivers in the right frame of mind is critical.
“Communication is like always – trying to communicate to drivers when there is traffic because if you’re on a hot lap and you find traffic, you’re in a mess. It’s very important to keep on top of it and to keep drivers as calm as possible,” said the Haas team boss. “Already the stress of it is enough in Monaco because it’s high-speed through a lot of tight walls. Then, if you have to deal with traffic, that sometimes takes the driver the wrong way and they can’t focus on their driving. It’s the only thing you can do and sometimes you get it right, but sometimes you get it wrong – so that’s where our main focus is throughout the sessions.”
While Monaco is an important date on the F1 calendar each year, and for each team, this year’s Monaco Grand Prix carries extra importance for Haas. It will mark the 150th Grand Prix for the team, which joined the grid back in 2016. Speaking ahead of the canceled Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which was to be that 150th Grand Prix, Steiner shared his favorite memory of the team’s run to date.
And his answer is perhaps classic Steiner.
“What stood out for me is when we got to the race track in Melbourne in 2016 because we had so many people saying we wouldn’t make it. We made it, we’re still here and that makes me proud for the whole team,” said Steiner. “We scored points in our first race which hasn’t happened many times before in Formula 1 history as well. For me, it means a lot starting a team, it’s a dream for many to start a team and I could do it thanks to Gene Haas who allowed us to do this. We’re in a good position now and we just try to get stronger and stronger, and we will.”
Now points are one thing, but is there a win in the team’s future?
Steiner believes so … someday.
“The present objective this year is to move up in the Constructors’ Championship from last year, getting better every year – it’s as simple as this – and at some stage we want to be winning races,” said the team boss. “I don’t know how far away it is and I’m not going to say it’s this season or next season, but at some stage, it will happen with Haas.”
A first win coming in Monaco?
What a story that would be.
