Haas F1 boss, Gunther Steiner has assured that they are not worried about the reliability of Ferrari engines despite Charles Leclerc facing a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding the permissible amount of Control Electronics for the season. Haas has been a long-term Ferrari customer, relying on the engine performance that Ferrari provided. Unfortunately, their collaboration has been hampered by the engine’s unreliability. Last season, Ferrari had the best engine package but struggled from poor reliability, resulting in multiple DNFs for Haas as well.
“They have a problem, but it has nothing to do with us. But they have said that we should not worry, so no, we won’t change anything.” he told PlanetF1 about Ferarai’s engine issues. Looking ahead to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Steiner hopes that Haas can put their first points on the board. “Jeddah is a little bit different in terms of layout compared to Bahrain, but everything that we learned in Bahrain will help us set up the car better for Saudi Arabia,” he said. “Hopefully, we get it in a good window, and then we can extract the full potential of the VF-23, resulting in points.”
Nico Hulkenberg, the American team’s returning driver, qualified for Q3 in the season opener but did not have a representative time on the board, resulting in him starting in the tenth position. Despite this, he ended in 15th position after a near-mediocre race due to a bad start. Kevin Magnussen, another squad member, made a strategic blunder by starting on hard compound tyres and finishing 15th.
Looking ahead to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Steiner hopes that Haas can put their first points on the board. “Jeddah is a little bit different in terms of layout compared to Bahrain, but everything that we learned in Bahrain will help us set up the car better for Saudi Arabia,” he said. “Hopefully, we get it in a good window, and then we can extract the full potential of the VF-23, resulting in points.”
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Haas is hopeful for improved performance at Jeddah, while Ferrari remains concerned about their engine
Magnussen believes they have learned some lessons in Bahrain that will help the team at the Jeddah circuit. “The positive thing we took with us from Bahrain was that we were actually reasonably competitive and could fight for the top ten,” said the Dane. “We are looking forward to whether we can challenge a little more here. The surface is not as hard on the rear tyres as in Bahrain, which might help us.”
Ferrari’s 2022 reliability issues appear to have persisted, with Leclerc withdrawing owing to a control electronics failure. After swapping their initial ECU as a precautionary step before the Bahrain GP, the ECU failed on them, causing Leclerc to retire on lap 41. Leclerc believes this is only the beginning of his penalties since he does not believe Ferrari can salvage his first two ECUs.
Regardless of Ferrari’s struggles, Steiner is confident that Haas won’t be affected. “I don’t know exactly what, because they don’t tell me, and I don’t ask them. But they have said that we should not worry, so no, we won’t change anything,” he assured.
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