"I want to live the dream" - Haas now "the strongest car in the midfield"

Haas F1 believe they have the strongest package among the midfield teams after Kevin Magnussen took a sensational P4 in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend. Team principal Guenther Steiner says their “dream result” was well-deserved by his team after going through two difficult seasons in 2020 and 2021.

When asked how the team managed to go from being the slowest car on the grid to threatening Mercedes, Steiner jokingly said:

“I don’t want to understand it – I want to live the dream.”

The 56-year-old then went on to say:

“We knew that we have a good car, we saw that yesterday [in qualifying], but you still need to deliver it. The longest stint we did up until now was 18 laps in a row, so now to do 57 was quite an achievement. The team didn’t do anything wrong; everything was well prepared. Yesterday, the qualifying, we were fighting in a difficult position, but everyone did their job and the right decisions at the right time. So, it was a very good weekend.”

Magnussen, who made a shock return to the sport after Nikita Mazepin’s departure, was equally delighted with his team’s performance. Praising the team for their turnaround, he said:

“I’ve just got to say a massive well done to the team, getting this car into this position – we were the strongest car in the midfield. I could actually see the Mercedes almost the whole race.”

Haas struggled for competitiveness over the last two seasons as its financial situation looked increasingly dire. At the start of last year, the team decided to stop developing their 2021 car and focussed entirely on the new regulations, hoping to better utilize their limited resources.

Heading into 2022, they weren’t sure if their gamble had fully paid off until the VF-22 displayed its full potential in Bahrain at Magnussen’s hands.

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Haas’ sophisticated aero seems to be working well

Haas had the second-largest aerodynamic testing allowance among the grid last year, courtesy of their uncompetitive form in 2020. The little American team seem to have made good use of this allowance to develop the aero on their 2022 challenger to an advanced degree.

In comparison, Mercedes and Red Bull — being the fastest and second fastest team in the last two seasons — have been struggling to get their cars working well with limited wind tunnel allowance.

According to Auto Motor und Sport, the VF-22 reportedly weighs over 8 kilograms more compared to fellow Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo. This increased weight is estimated to cost around three tenths in outright performance, yet Haas managed to display superior pace throughout the Bahrain GP than Alfa Romeo.

Having a healthy head start in the aero department bodes well for Haas, as the developmental race heats up throughout this season.