Nico Hulkenberg explains why Haas will field 2 different cars at the 2023 F1 Las Vegas GP

Nico Hulkenberg has explained why Haas will have two distinctly different cars in the 2023 F1 Las Vegas GP, based on parts and overall performance. This is because Hulkenberg has reverted to the old-spec car that the team ran before the major upgrade in Austin. Meanwhile, Kevin Magnussen will be driving the new-spec car with all the latest upgrades.

While attending the drivers' press conference before the Las Vegas GP, Hulkenberg was asked why this was the case. He reportedly stated that it was simply his preference to drive the old-spec car.

The German driver also claimed that even though there have been some improvements through the upgrades, he did not feel comfortable with them.

"It just comes down to personal preference. We’ve had three races with the new package and whilst there were maybe some small benefits, there were also some not so good aspects with it and it was not the step forward that we needed from a big update, and I think I just felt a little bit more comfortable and confident on the old package. And I think with the two circuits that we have here now, it favours that slightly more, hence that call," he said.

When asked about the future of the team and how both he and Magnussen will work to create one good car for 2024, Hulkenberg replied that the entire team needs to do a better job in order to create one good car that both drivers can use.

"It just means we have to reconsider. Both of them aren’t good enough. We need to do a better job. We need to find performance elsewhere and yeah, just reconsider, look harder and deeper," he added.

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Nico Hulkenberg on Haas' major upgrades not working on VF-23 car

Nico Hulkenberg claimed that the new upgrades brought by Haas during the 2023 F1 Austin GP were not enough to take a step forward. He stated that the upgrades improved certain aspects of the car but made other areas worse.

"It's not a clear step forward. We understand that now and we know that. It feels similar in some places, better in some, and worse in some. At the end of the day, it's balanced. But we actually needed a real step forward in performance. Unfortunately, that didn't happen," Hulkenberg said.

"We have to go into the topic and see how we approach the topics of car concept and aerodynamics next year. Aerodynamics is currently our biggest weak point and we have to address that. Otherwise, it will be next year run similarly," he added.

Hulkenberg is currently 16th in the drivers' championship with only nine points, while Kevin Magnussen is in 19th with three points.