Nico Hulkenberg says Haas needs to “reset and regroup” before the second half of the Formula 1 season as its 2023 car continues to be plagued with issues.
Haas is on a seven-race barren streak without scoring a point over a full grand prix distance, with Hulkenberg’s sixth in the Austria sprint race the team’s only haul of points since Miami.
The American-owned outfit has suffered with tyre degradation and a lack of race pace for much of the year, despite the VF-23 proving a handy car over one lap.
Hulkenberg has reached the final part of qualifying at six races but has repeatedly dropped through the field on race day, finishing only once in the top 10 at the Australian Grand Prix back in April.
Following another difficult weekend for Haas at the Belgian Grand Prix, Hulkenberg said Haas understood the problems it is faced with but warned finding a solution would not be straightforward.
“A pretty grim weekend for us,” Hulkenberg said, as quoted by RACER. “Write it off, reset and regroup and come back after the summer break hopefully a bit stronger.
“Yeah we need (the break) but what we really need is some upgrades. Some real performance to help ourselves, that’s what we need. [Spa-Francorchamps] again exposes the weaknesses of our car very much. That’s why we’ve not been competitive in any session on any lap really. A lot of work to do.
“I think we understand the cause and what happens and why it happens but fixing it and bringing loads of performance doesn’t just lay on the street. It’s a bit more complex.”
Haas’ poor run of form has allowed Williams to leap ahead of them in the battle for seventh in the constructors’ championship on count back, with both teams level on 11 points.
But while Haas is going through a rough patch, Hulkenberg insists that the team can turn its season around.
“We can still improve the situation this year,” he said. “To what extent? That’s TBC, down to us and we have to prove it. It’s a longer-term thing for sure.”
Haas team principal Gunther Steiner acknowledged Spa was the latest example of Haas’ ongoing struggles, but remains optimistic it can resolve its issues and come back stronger after the summer break.
“We couldn’t fight with the others and if we go into overtime with our tires, we just get slower, and that’s what happened again,” Steiner said.
“We know our deficit, we’re working on it and hopefully we can resolve it fast but all in all, the team did a good job. For Nico to change his car around, it was all executed very well. Now we go on summer break, and hopefully come back stronger.”
