Haas eager to assess its upgrade package in the high-speed corners of Barcelona

Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu is eager to assess the upgrades that the American team introduced in recent races in the high-speed corners of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The 4.6km circuit established itself as an acid test of a Formula 1 car’s ability, with an abundance of long-radius high-speed corners, rapid changes of direction, and extreme stress placed upon the tyres. A well-balanced package, and confidence in the front end of the car, is vital for drivers to complete a strong lap around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Given these characteristics, it is not surprising that team boss Ayao Komatsu expects the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to deliver an answer whether Haas' recent upgrades brought the car into a better window given the variety of corners of the Catalan track.

“Spain is the first circuit since we introduced our upgrades which has proper high-speed corners, so I’m really looking forward to assessing our update at that circuit and see what it’s like.

"We have Bearman joining us again for FP1, this time in place of Nico, so he can continue from where he left off in Imola. A triple-header is always pretty tough, thankfully a lot of our team is UK-based so it helps that the last race of this triple is in the UK, but it is still very hard.

Haas have had two very difficult weekend in the previous two rounds as they team lacked outright speed both in Monaco and Montreal. In the Principality, Kevin Magnussen made a crucial mistake which resulted in a horrific crash with Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who also collected his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.

The following round in North-America saw Haas fail to capitalize on the wild and wet race in Montreal which led to another race from which the team departed with zero points.

"It’s getting to that point of the season where everybody’s feeling it, so it’s very important that we look after ourselves to be able to perform at our best, to be efficient and focused, especially on the back of two events where our trackside operations weren’t the best. We can’t let that happen, so we need to look at ourselves and see how we can operate at our best.”

Haas' German driver Nico Hulkenberg is looking forward to the Barcelona round, disclosing that he enjoys the atmosphere at the Catalan city.

“It’s one of the classic circuits we’ve been going to over the years. It’s obviously a very high-speed circuit and I think it’s going to be very hot there this year, it used to be the first race of the European season.

"I expect there’s going to be very hot, Spanish, temperatures. The vibes in Barcelona and the Spanish lifestyle are pretty cool and go well with a fun race. I like triple-headers, we’ve known them now for a few years and June is that month when things get quite busy," added the German.

Kevin Magnussen endured a torrid period over the past weekends, and finds himself on the verge of getting a race ban as he has collected 12 penalty points over the past twelve months. The Dane hopes that his team can pick up the pace after the last two tough race weekends.

“It’s one of the most well-known tracks for all the drivers, probably the track I’ve done most laps of out of them all. It’s a good track, lots of high-speed corners there, and can be quite difficult to overtake.

"It’s become better, the track is more enjoyable after they’ve removed the last chicane and that’s also helped overtaking a little bit, so hopefully we can be competitive there. It’s a triple-header, but it’s nice to be in the European part of the season, it’s all familiar surroundings, short flights and no jet lag," said the Dane.