Nico Hülkenberg and Haas ‘ready’ for F1 Mexico City Grand Prix
Nico Hülkenberg and Haas ‘ready’ for F1 Mexico City Grand Prix
Haas heads to Mexico City looking to build off a ‘strong performance’ at the United States Grand Prix
Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
A season ago, Haas finished dead last in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship.
At the moment, due to a tremendous week in Austin during the United States Grand Prix, they sit sixth in those standings, two points ahead of Visa Cash App RB F1 Team in the Constructors’ Championship. An upgrade package the team brought to the Circuit of the Americas paid dividends, as both Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen finished in the points in the F1 Sprint Race — Magnussen running the old specification on his VF-24 — and Hülkenberg finished eighth in the Grand Prix itself.
Now the team is hoping to build off that “strong performance” in Mexico City in this week’s Mexico City Grand Prix.
“Mexico provides a unique challenge due to its high altitude, the thin air means it’s tough on cooling and reduces downforce significantly. The circuit has plenty of low-speed corners with some heavy braking,” said Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu in the team’s media preview. “We normally have very poor grip levels in FP1, combined with a lack of downforce, so it’s a big challenge for both drivers and engineers to get on top of it quickly. Following on from our strong performance in Austin, we’re looking forward to this challenge and for another top 10 finish.”
Both Hülkenberg and Magnussen paid tribute to the special environment that is the Mexico City Grand Prix.
“Mexico is a fun city, a fun track, and a fun event, it has an amazing atmosphere with the Mexican fans. The stadium section is phenomenal part of the race track,” said . It’s unique with the thin air, it’s tough on the cars for cooling, and aero-wise it’s a difficult venue. I think we’ve had some good and bad races here in the past but our car is in a good place, so there’s no reason why we can’t score again.”
“Mexico City is the second stop of my favorite part of the season,” added Hülkenberg. “The culture is so vibrant, and the fans in the Foro Sol stadium are guaranteed to make some noise, even if they save the biggest cheers for Checo. It’s an interesting track and another good challenge.
“We‘ll be ready for it.”
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