Nico Hülkenberg and Haas expecting a ‘tight fight’ at F1 Australian Grand Prix

Haas secured their first point of the 2024 Formula 1 season in somewhat controversial fashion in Saudi Arabia, as Kevin Magnussen held up the chasing pack behind him to give teammate Nico Hülkenberg enough of a cushion for P10 in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Now as the grid heads Down Under for the Australian Grand Prix, the team is hoping to build off that early success.

“I think Saudi Arabia was another positive weekend, although on paper the Jeddah circuit probably wasn’t the best for us with the high-speed characteristics of it. We were still relatively competitive, especially in the race I had very good pace relative to others at the end, which is our focus this season,” said Magnussen in the team’s media preview of the Australian Grand Prix. “We still haven’t concluded that we’ve solved our issues from last year yet, we need to do some more races, but it was another positive sign that we’ve made progress in that area. We got a point out of it with Nico, so I’m looking forward to pushing hard for more.”

To that latter point, the team spent the bulk of pre-season testing addressing tire degradation, their nemesis from a season ago. While Haas believes they have made some progress, there are still some final questions left before they can declare having passed that particular examination.

“Having focused our pre-season testing on our biggest weakness from last year – our race pace – I think after the first races which are two very different circuits in very different conditions, we’re pretty satisfied that we have made a step forward both in terms of car and set-up,” said Team Principal Ayao Komatsu. “In the next few races, we need to prove until we do four races, four different tracks, with different tires and climates, we can’t make a concrete conclusion. Between Bahrain and Jeddah, which are two very different circuits and in both races we performed strongly, that’s a very positive takeaway.”

Adding to the tire-related intrigue is the fact that in Pirelli’s tire designation for the Australian Grand Prix, the C5 will be the softest compound available, making its 2024 debut.

This poses another challenge for Haas, according to Komatsu.

“It will also be the first time this year that we use the C5 tire compound. Historically, we’ve struggled to get the tires to work in qualifying, so it’s going to be interesting. Another big factor is tire graining, which previously dominated our tire degradation,” described Komatsu. “We haven’t had severe graining this year so far, so this will be another new challenge for us to manage this weekend.”

The Haas team boss is also viewing Melbourne as the third of four chapters in the story of tire degradation. Again, this was the issue that hampered Haas all season long in 2023, as their strong one-lap pace was undone in race after race a season ago.

The characteristics of each of the four races on the 2024 docket will give the team a complete picture of where they stand following the Japanese Grand Prix.

“Bahrain is a rough traction, rear-limited circuit and Jeddah is much higher speed with smooth tarmac and with lower downforce level. Melbourne has a similar downforce level to Bahrain, but not as rear limited, it has got high-speed corners and the type of corner is different,” outlined Komatsu. “When we go to Suzuka, that famous Sector 1 with medium- to high-speed corners, they all have different demands. So, after those four races, we can draw a better conclusion about what the strengths and weaknesses of the VF-24 are and how we can manage it.”

Still, the team expects to be in a “tight fight” this weekend, as they look to add to their account.

“We‘re happy about scoring our first point of the season in Saudi Arabia. Everyone saw how much effort it takes for midfield teams to fight for a top 10 result and teamwork was definitely the key,” said Hülkenberg. “Now I’m looking forward to Melbourne, I have many positive memories about Albert Park and the special atmosphere around it. For sure, it’s going to be a very tight fight for every position again.”