Scuderia Ferrari and Haas share a common tendency: both cars are particularly competitive on Saturdays in the qualifying session but then lack performance on Sundays in terms of race pace. Apart from the last Canadian Grand Prix, where the Maranello team performed well in the race, this behavior has been observed on multiple tracks in this first part of the 2023 Formula One championship.
It is natural for the two cars, both manufactured in Maranello, to share certain strengths and weaknesses. However, in the case of Haas, even in Montreal, following an excellent qualifying session where Hulkenberg was able to secure second place, the race resulted in a disappointing outcome.
“We didn’t have much to fight for,” commented the German driver after a challenging 15th place finish.
The Italian-American car, as reported by the drivers, seems to suffer from excessive sliding, partly due to the tire degradation that is not always under control.
Steiner: “Same chassis and suspensions…”
Haas Team Principal, Guenther Steiner, then addressed the issue, convinced that it is related to the chassis. The basic architecture on which the car is built is shared with Ferrari, which would explain some negative similarities with the behavior of the SF-23.
“There are several parallels with their car,” confirmed Steiner. “They are also less competitive in the race, although not on all circuits. Obviously, we can’t go to Ferrari and tell them that our problem is due to them, but we have to work on it.”
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The manager who holds dual Italian and American citizenship also questioned the root causes of the lack of race pace.
“It could be the wind tunnel since we use the same one. Or the suspension, which is the same. I believe we are in the same situation as Ferrari. There is an awareness that something went wrong, and we are trying to identify the problem.”
While Williams, thanks to a massive package of updates, seems to have regained some of its competitiveness, the team led by Steiner is currently observing. The results of Ferrari’s “EVO” in Canada should serve as an example for Haas, although they are aware that the new developments could overshadow but not erase the underlying flaws of the car.
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