MARINA BAY STREET CIRCUIT, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 17: Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-23, and Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-23, head to the grid during the Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday September 17, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo: Lionel Ng | LAT Images)
Haas F1 in 2023
The Haas Formula 1 team looked to continue building up their program. After finishing eighth in the Constructors Championship standings with 37 points through the year in 2022, the team branded as “America’s F1 team” looked toward better things, especially with a change over to an utterly veteran line-up with the pairing of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen to bring stability to the team and gain as many points as possible.
However, unlike their team name counterparts in the states that saw Cole Custer win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship, Haas F1 took a significant step back in 2023, finishing last in the Constructors Championship with just 12 points.
The most considerable struggle for Haas F1 in 2023 was a car that was never entirely developed right for 2023. While the lap pace for the Haas VF-23 was significant during practice and qualifying, it never translated to race pace during the Grand Prix events throughout the year. Haas even completely redesigned their car going into the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, which saw the car take up some Red Bull-like qualities.
However, that upgrade barely lasted a day. After the USGP Sprint Race, the car was put back to its original configuration ahead of the USGP, meaning both Magnussen and Hulkenberg had to start on the pit lane that day.
It is a long winter ahead for the American-owned F1 team, looking to pull themselves back from the bottom of the point standings in 2024. There will be driver stability for Haas, as it was announced during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend that both Magnussen and Hulkenberg would be staying with the team in 2024.
Nico Hulkenberg (16th in the standings with nine points)
Nico Hulkenberg returned to the Formula 1 grid following a two-year absence sitting on the sidelines as the Aston Martin reserve driver headed into 2023. Hulkenberg replaced Mick Schumacher in the hopes that a pairing of two veteran drivers would maximize the amount of points earned in 2023.
The switch to Hulkenberg almost paid off immediately, as he would survive to finish seventh in the Australian Grand Prix. Also, Hulkenberg maximized the most out of the qualifying pace of the VF-23, which saw him reach the final round of qualifying eight times throughout the season.
This culminated in a shock second-place run in a red-flagged, plagued final round to set the grid for the Canadien Grix Prix, initially lining Hulkenberg up alongside Max Verstappen. However, a three-place grid penalty was handed down due to speeding during red flags, regulating him to fifth for the Grand Prix.
Pole position qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing (C), Second placed qualifier Nico Hulkenberg of Germany and Haas F1 (L) and Third placed qualifier Fernando Alonso of Spain and Aston Martin F1 Team (R) pose for a photo in the Pitlane during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 17, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
However, Hulkenberg’s seventh in Australia was his only Grand Prix points-scoring race in 2023, outside of the three points he gained at the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint Race. While he outqualified his teammate 15-7 through the season, he rarely converted it to points-paying finishes.
Kevin Magnussen (19th in the standings with three points)
Following his 13th-place finish in the standings in 2022 with 25 points, hopes were high for Kevin Magnussen as he entered 2023. However, that would not be the case as the season wore on. Outqualified and consistently out-paced throughout the year by his teammate, Magnussen did not have that many good moments to be excited about through the 2023 season.
His brightest moment in 2023 came with a surprising fourth-place qualifying position for the Miami Grand Prix. He converted that into a 10th-place finish, one of the three times he finished 10th in 2023, accumulating all three points for the year.
The hope now for Magnussen now turns to 2024 to hopefully get back to where he was in 2022 and closer to the mid-field battle, where he would be found a lot in the past.
Looking ahead for 2024
Haas F1’s hopes are for the problems of extreme tire degradation that plagued the team in 2023 being behind them. The team’s pace in practice and qualifying always showed moments of hope for the weekend that never truly materialized, as the car’s performance would almost immediately suffer once the lights went out.
If Haas can find a consistent race pace that they sorely missed in 2023, they can hopefully join in on the fight in the midfield and hopefully score more points in 2024.
