Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean was impressed with how well the 2016 Haas F1 car felt during his time testing in the simulator.
Grosjean was able to test the car in Ferrari’s simulator due to the technical partnership Haas has secured with the Italian outfit.
As well as using Ferrari power units and drive trains, this partnership also grants Haas access to Ferrari’s wind tunnel and simulators in Maranello.
Speaking with L’Equipe, he explained how it felt to try out the 2016 car in Ferrari’s simulator two weeks before the first scheduled test.
“The impressions were rather good.”
“As with any new car there were some teething technical problems to resolve, like the turbo lag, the energy recovered under braking, etc..
“The morning was spent on this, but once everything was settled we had the opportunity to run extensively in the afternoon.”
Resolving the teething problems and adjusting the setup in the simulator means when Haas arrives in Barcelona they will not need to waste crucial testing time finding the best set up and resolving installation issues meaning they use every second gaining valuable information for the season ahead.
“We worked on the basic set-up which included braking and throttle response, differential settings, and various ride heights in relation to their aerodynamic impact compared to wind tunnel data.”
Despite the simulator work, Grosjean acknowledged himself and the team won’t know how exactly how the car will act and function until it is put through its paces at the first test on February 22nd.
