Haas leave home race with a decent point haul
Arriving at Austin with a raft of changes to their VF-24, Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg made good use of the upgraded car, scoring valuable points for the American team in the closing stages of the 2024 F1 season.
Haas displayed a strong performance in the Austin F1 Sprint on Saturday, with Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg finishing seventh and eighth to collect some vital points for the American outfit.
On Sunday, things have changed slightly, but the Kannapolis-based outfit was still quick. Hulkenberg finished the 56-lap race in P8 to secure four points. His team-mate Magnussen, looked for a long time like he might score points, but he was forced into a second pit stop late on, which cost him any chance of scoring.
The German driver did not feel comfortable in his car at the start of the race, but he still managed to extend his opening stint to commit himself to a one-stop strategy.
“I’m very pleased with that, we maximised what was possible and at the end we were actually getting closer to Perez in a Red Bull. I had a suspicion it could be a one-stop race, and it was, although halfway through the first stint it felt really poor and horrible.
"The tyres recovered and came back to me, and going long opened the door for this race and this result. That was key, so two lots of points this weekend and two points in front of RB, it’s been a good weekend.”
After an impressive showing in the sprint race, his team-mate Kevin Magnussen failed to score any points in the 56-lap race, suggesting that higher than anticipated tyre wear deprived him of committing himself to a single-stop strategy.
“We didn’t get any points today although we had a good chance of getting some. We were talking about a one-stopper, but we didn’t manage that.”
Despite scoring a good haul of points, Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu was left with mixed feeling after the Austin race, claiming that while he was delighted with the points for Hulkenberg, he expected Magnussen to score point as well.
“It was bit of a mixed result, but it was good to get P8 with Nico. He executed a very good one-stop strategy, and considering the situation he managed the tyres very well and communicated well.
"On Kevin’s side, it was almost the opposite as our baseline was a two-stop strategy and then there was some messy communication towards the end of the race. I feel that we should’ve scored points with both cars today, although Kevin may have struggled to hang on to P10, at least he would’ve had a chance.
"If we had come away from here with P8 and P10, that would’ve been the best result, but unfortunately only Nico scored today. We got seven points out of the weekend, and two ahead of RB so that’s the positive. We’re now P6 in the Constructors’ Championship with five events to go, and we’re competitive, so we’ll go for more.”
