Haas Pre-Season Testing: What we learnt from Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen’s VF-22 runs in Bahrain
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Haas' VF-22 in Bahrain
Haas had had the toughest start of the season amongst all the other teams. The team had decided to drop one of its major Russian sponsors, Uralkali, in the wake of Russia declaring war on Ukraine with an intention to take over the land. Haas even went a step further as they decided to even drop Russian driver Nikita Mazepin from their line-up to send a strong message to Russia. Nikita Mazepin has been replaced by ex Haas driver Kevin Magnussen who was fired by Haas in 2020.
But there has been a lot of positives for Haas during the process as their team Principal continue to put a shift in for the team to enjoy smoother days in the future. The team did face some logistical issues at the start of testing which didn’t allow them to feature in the morning session. Reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi was able to get the Vf-22, decked out in all new livery, in the afternoon session after some terrific work from the engineers backstage. But the reserve driver had a miserable run, finishing P15 with his fastest lap at 1.37.4 and was able to complete 47 laps.
Mick Schumacher Lap timings and laps completed
After a not so ideal start with the team missing out on the morning session, Mick Schumacher took center stage amidst the chaos that Haas has been in. Mick Schumacher didn’t really turn up as he struggled to get going on the new Vf-22. The youngster could only do 23 laps and was able to finish P12. The German had a premature end to the first session in Bahrain because of an exhaust problem. But he went on to rectify that on the third day as he showed signs of significant improvement and promise for the season to come as he finished P8.
| Day | No: of laps completed | Fastest lap | Rank |
| Day 1 | – | – | – |
| Day 2 | 23 | 1.37.846 | P12 |
| Day 3 | 57 | 1.33.151 | P8 |
Kevin Magnussen Lap timings and laps completed
Kevin Magnussen has made a surprise return to Formula 1 and more surprisingly to the team which fired him in 2020. The Dane didn’t took the firing to heart as he was excited to make a return. He has signed a multi year contract with Haas. The new recruit took reins from reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi on Day 2 and was able to show some serious pace. He was even able to set the fastest lap in one of his solo laps. But the Dane disappointed on Day as he finished last on the grid.
| Day | No: of laps completed | Fastest lap | Rank |
| Day 1 | – | – | – |
| Day 2 | 39 | 1.36.505 | P9 |
| Day 3 | 38 | 1.38.616 | P18 |
Struggles faced by Haas
Haas has had a torrid start to the season with them losing on of their drivers and one of their major sponsors in the wake of the horrific acts conducted by Russia on Ukraine which just left them with only one Formula 1 driver which was Mick Schumacher. Reserve driver, Pietro Fittipaldi had drove for them on Day 1 and had a miserable time on the track with him finishing last on the grid and could only do 47 laps.
Haas even had to miss the morning session because some of the parts of new VF-22 could not reach on time due to which the car couldn’t be brought on track in time. The engineers were able to somewhat rescue the situation but this did cost the drivers some valuable car time on the newly upgraded VF-22. The problems have been mounting up as they are set to lose 40 million dollars this year. So, it’s not looking ideal but the team has always signs of bouncing back and we hope that’s the case here too.
Key Takeaways for Haas
It hasn’t been all gloomy for Haas as they have put in the shift to get it back on track. The most important thing was to recruit a talented and a trustworthy driver after losing Nikita Mazepin from their line-up and so they did. Haas was able to somehow convince Kevin Magnussen to come back to the team after they fired him in 2020. This came along as surprise but credit goes to Haas to get it done.
Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher showed some serious pace on Day 2 and Day 3 respectively. Kevin Magnussen even went on to the fastest lap in one of his solo laps on Day 2 while Mick Schumacher showed some signs of promise on Day 3. What the duo lacks is consistency and that will come with time and therefore, Haas needs to be patient.
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Shubham Bajpai
(776 Articles Published)