The Spanish Grand Prix is ??traditionally the race on the Formula 1 calendar where the first major updates are used. Mick Schumacher drives in Barcelona without new material. Haas team boss Günther Steiner has different plans than the competition.
Mick Schumacher has to wait until the end of July for decisive technical improvements to his Formula 1 car. Team leader Günther Steiner announced in the paddock of Barcelona that the US racing team Haas will only compete at the French Grand Prix on July 24th with a heavily overhauled vehicle. “We have a plan as to why we’re doing this. We don’t imitate or react to what others are doing,” Steiner said in a media round at the American motorhome.
Many competitors are already bringing a lot of new technology for their cars to the sixth race of the season this Sunday (3 p.m. / Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de) in Spain and in some cases also announced this publicly. “I don’t know what the upgrades bring to the others. If I knew that, I would be a smart man,” said Steiner, who was deliberately calm: “If we do the upgrade, then almost everywhere. It will certainly be a nice package , there will be substantial changes.”
So Schumacher goes in Catalonia in his unchanged car on the hunt for the first World Championship points of his career. Most recently in Miami, these were already within reach, but shortly before the finish, the 23-year-old was eliminated after an accident with compatriot Sebastian Vettel. “We talked about it. We agreed that we would focus on here, not on what was,” said Steiner: “He’s learning a lot right now. If you’re going for the points, you have to deal with a lot of new situations. ” That is very different from last year, when the Haas cars were almost always at the end of the field.
Team boss Steiner recently indicated in an interview with RTL/ntv that the increased competitiveness of the car will also increase the demands on Schumacher. “At some point, the points have to come, Kevin has already scored points,” said the South Tyrolean, referring to the second pilot, Kevin Magnussen, who currently has 15 points and has finished in the top 10 in three of the five races of the season.
For Haas, despite the lack of updates for the time being, it’s about not losing touch with the midfield in the constructors’ championship. In eighth place (out of ten), the US racing team is just behind Alpha Tauri (16 points), Alpine (26) and Alfa Romeo (31) are also still within reach. Vettel and Aston Martin (6) are then lurking to at least reduce the gap with various improvements in Barcelona.
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