Guenther Steiner asks Ferrari to solve Haas F1’s tire degradation woes

Haas and Ferrari have been involved in various dealings since Haas entered F1 in 2016.

Guenther Steiner asks Ferrari to solve Haas F1’s tire degradation woes

Guenther Steiner (Credits: WWOS-Nine) and Fred Vasseur (Credits: GPFans)

While Haas does have a good pace on the VF-23 this season, they have been severely struggling with tire degradation issues. Their lead driver Nico Hulkenberg has qualified for Q3 four times this season but only finished in the points once in Australia. Haas chief Guenther Steiner recently looked towards Ferrari with the hope that they would solve this problem for them.

To avoid reckless spending of their budget before the budget cap, Haas has been buying internal parts, or ‘Transferable Components’ like the gearbox, suspension, rear crash structure, etc., from Ferrari ever since their inception in 2016. Since the two teams’ relationship is way beyond just engine supply, Steiner said that if Ferrari solves this problem of tire degradation, it would be very beneficial for Haas as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGztceIId3A

“If they [Ferrari] solve it, that’s fantastic because then we will hopefully find a solution as well. But if they don’t solve it, it seems to be a big issue. If they can’t solve the problem, it will become even more difficult for us,” Steiner told Motorsport-Magazin.com.

Haas currently stands eighth in the constructors’ standings with just 11 points, nine of which are courtesy of Nico Hulkenberg. Kevin Magnussen is at P18 in the WDC standings, four places behind Hulkenberg at P14.

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Guenther Steiner reveals the one quality of Nico Hulkenberg that ‘surprised’ him the most

Nico Hulkenberg and Guenther Steiner
Nico Hulkenberg and Guenther Steiner (Credits: PlanetF1)

Nico Hulkenberg joined Haas at the start of the 2023 season. He was without an F1 seat since 2020, having raced just three races in the three years. While many would think that a driver would take some time to re-acclimatize himself with the grid, Haas chief Guenther Steiner said that he was very surprised with how well the German fit in with the team.

Steiner said that upon his joining the team, all of them were surprised with how well Hulkenberg integrated with them. He said that Hulkenberg puts in the right amount of effort, neither more nor less. Steiner also credited this familiarisation to Hulkenberg’s F1 career before Haas.

“We were surprised with how quick he was on the ball and how quick he was integrated into the team. But again, he was doing this [F1] for a long time. He puts the right effort in, not trying to overdo it, but he knows exactly what he needs to do,” said Steiner.

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