In their media preview ahead of the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg, together with Team Principal Guenther Steiner, summed up the key driver for Haas this week in one word.
Communication.
As we have discussed throughout this week, qualifying is key in Monaco. With the overtaking coming up on the streets of Monte Carlo, starting up front is crucial. While the three outline how important Saturday is, they also underline communication between the drivers and the team, as an essential component of a successful Monaco Grand Prix.
Plus a successful qualifying session.
“Qualifying is the most important part of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. It’s a very small track and the traffic at the end of the lap before starting a flying lap can often be a challenge. Communicating with the team and trying to prepare with a little extra tire and brake temperature before having to build up in the queue before starting the lap is important,” Magnussen said in the team’s pre-race media report. .
“It’s also a bit random, so it’s difficult to fully prepare, you just have to be aware and try to get the best out of turn 1, as you’ll often get there with cold tires and brakes, so it’s a bit of a trade-off,” he added. the pilot.
“Communication is key,” added Hülkenberg. “To ‘survive’ on this narrow track with no real straights, every team and its driver must always be prepared for the many imponderables.”
For Steiner, an important aspect of clear communication between the team and the riders is keeping the riders in a good mental frame. Given the initial stress of an F1 race, magnified by the challenges posed by the Monaco circuit, keeping the drivers in the right frame of mind is key.
“Communication is like always: try to communicate with drivers when there’s traffic because if you’re on a hot ride and you find traffic, you’re in a bind. It is very important to maintain control and keep the riders as calm as possible,” said the Haas team boss. “There’s already enough stress in Monaco because it’s high speed through a lot of narrow walls. So if you have to deal with traffic, it sometimes takes the driver in the wrong direction and he can’t concentrate on 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 we mostly focus during the sessions.
While Monaco is an important date on the F1 calendar every year, and for every team, this year’s Monaco Grand Prix holds particular significance for Haas. It will mark the 150th Grand Prix for the team, which joined the grid in 2016. Speaking ahead of the cancellation of the 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 the classic Steiner.
“What stood out for me was when we hit the track in Melbourne in 2016 because there were so many people saying we weren’t going to make it. We did 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 in the history of Formula 1. It means a lot to me. to start a team, it’s a dream for many to start a team and I was able to do it thanks to Gene Haas who allowed us to do it. We’re in a good position now and we’re just trying to get stronger and stronger, and we will.”
Points are one thing now, but is there a win in the team’s future?
Steiner thinks so… one day.
“The current focus this year is to move up the Constructors’ Championship from last year, getting better every year – it’s that simple – and at some point we want to win races,” said the team boss. “I don’t know how far it is and I won’t say it will be this or next season, but it will happen at some point with Haas.”
A first victory arriving in Monaco?
What a story that would be.
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