Haas Predicts Early Troubles With 2022 F1 Challenger

Haas F1 finished at the bottom of the table last year because of their slow car. But this year, they have already shown some impressive pace at the pre-season testing. However, the 2022 challenger’s durability is still a matter of concern for team principal Guenther Steiner.

The Haas VF-22 is faster in comparison to last year’s challenger, VF-21 but it lacks the resilience from last year’s car. Although the car got Haas and Kevin Magnussen the fastest lap on Day 2 at Bahrain, the car was retired quite a few times throughout testing due to durability issues.

Speaking on this, Steiner stated, “Obviously we need to work on improving the durability of the car we have. The resilience was not at the level we wanted and there is a lot of work to be done in this area. If we talk about performance, it’s hard to comment as we haven’t done that many laps, but I would say it doesn’t look that bad.”

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“First of all, we have to finish the race. We have problems with durability and I’m a little scared about it. I think we can still get to the finish line. We have a big shot at that,” Steiner continued on VF-22’s durability.

What is ahead for Haas F1 in 2022?

The 2022 season hasn’t even begun yet, but already there is so much going on at the Kannapolis, North Carolina base. Because of the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine, the American constructor had to cut their ties with their Russian sponsor Uralkali. Further, the team also had to terminate the contract of their young Russian driver, Nikita Mazepin.

However, for 2022, Haas has got their former driver Kevin Magnussen back on board. The Dane left Haas F1 and Formula One back in 2020 and now has returned to the sport after a one-year stint in Indy Car Series. The 29-year-old was already a huge addition to the F1 team as set the fastest lap on Day 2 of the Bahrain pre-season testing.

The American F1 team tried to have young blood on their team last year. Therefore, they got F1 rookies like Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher onboard. But the plan backfired, and both drivers finished last with zero points. So, this time, they went ahead with an experienced driver.

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Haas F1 is quite confident in their driver line-up and car this season. The only concern they have at the moment is the car’s durability, which they are trying to solve ahead of the Bahrain GP. Both Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher will return to the Bahrain grid this week in their VF-22s for the season opener. Fans should keep their eyes on Hass F1 as the team is all set to grab some good points in 2022.