The shortage of new parts has meant that the team has had to choose between the cars of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher to debut their improvements at the 2022 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix and they will finally be mounted on the Dane’s car.
Such a strategy is not unusual in the paddock, as Williams did something similar with its latest upgrade package, which was only used by Alex Albon at the British and Austrian Grands Prix.
Despite running a car that has had virtually no modifications, Haas has managed to stay competitive in the midfield.
“There is only one car that will get the upgrade,” explained team principal Gunther Steiner , when asked by Motorsport.com about the upgrades for Hungary. “And even then, spare parts will be very scarce even for that car. You know, everything is late and we’ve had a lot of accidents this year.
“So all the materials were spent to make a single package, and then we started late to work on it. We’ve started it in France and it will end up in Hungary.”
“At first we were told that we wouldn’t have it until Spa , but everyone was determined to have at least one package of this update for Budapest so that we could get some data and analyze it by the time we got back on track after the break.” .
“And then if it doesn’t work out we can always go back to what we had before, we have a good plan in place, well organised. The only thing is that we are quite short of spare parts , even for one car, so if something happens on Friday. ..”
For his part, Magnussen himself admitted to being expectant before that update: “We have seen this year that we have found more performance than we thought with the car as it was born, and basically we have not updated since the winter tests”.
“It’s been a bit surprising to see how we’ve been able to get more performance out of it. So when you install a new package, it’s a bit… I’m a bit anxious to see if it’s going to improve on what we have now, or if it’s a step backwards. I don’t know. It’s going to be interesting to watch.”
Steiner hopes the package will show a clear benefit at the Hungaroring , where downforce is very important.
“Speaking of numbers, I don’t want to know the number, because then you get disappointed, and what do you compare it with…” he said. “Because you don’t have the same car in two races on consecutive weekends.
“So we know how much extra downforce it gives, there’s a calculation of how much it should give us, but we won’t know until we get out on track.”
Magnussen spoke along the same lines: “We’d all love to just put new parts on the car and go a few tenths faster, but I don’t think that’s how it works.”
“You do unlock more potential, and the more you learn, the faster things go.”
Although Mick Schumacher will give the reference with the current car, Steiner admitted it won’t be as easy to change the specification of the same chassis over the weekend as McLaren did with Lando Norris between Friday’s two free practice sessions in France.
“It’s difficult with two cars. I mean, with both cars you can see the downforce data perfectly and for that it’s good that you have two different specifications on the track at the same time.”
“At least you can compare the downforce data and start from there, and then see if that downforce data, if there is a delta, gives you the time advantage that you have calculated, or that you expect from the simulator.
Steiner also confirmed that after Magnussen debuted a fourth power unit in France and started from the back of the grid, Mick Schumacher will need to do the same.
However, the team is confident of not having to make the change in Hungary, where overtaking is difficult, assuming the German has enough mileage left on his previous engines.
“He also has to change the engine. And I don’t know exactly when we will do it. We have to check some things, but I hope we can avoid doing it in Budapest. If we are not obliged to do it, we will not do it in Budapest.”
“That I can’t say 100%, because they have to look at this engine, how it looks. Once we know… but the plan at the moment is to do it at Spa.”
“But there aren’t hundreds of these engines around here, so I don’t want to put them under pressure. But that’s Ferrari’s job. And I think they try to do their best so we don’t get stuck on the track with a broken engine.” Steiner concluded.
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