Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen scolded the team’s performance this season on social media while looking forward to next year, following a disastrous end to the year at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Magnussen tweeted: “So long, 2023. The only positive today is that it was the last race. We can close the book and look forward to next year. Thanks to the whole team for working so hard during the season. It’s going to be a big winter for us to catch up, but I believe we can do it.”
He ended up finishing in 20th place after a poor outing in Abu Dhabi, with his team-mate, Nico Hulkenberg, finishing in 15th place. The Team Haas driver used an off-set tire strategy, making an early pit stop after four laps to switch to hard tires. Later, on lap 22, he returned to the pits for another set of hard rubber.
The result confirmed Haas’ 10th-place finish in the Constructors Championship. Speaking afterwards, team principal Guenther Steiner noted the team’s challenges throughout the year.
“It has been a tough season for us, which started well but did not get any better, as everyone else got better,” said Steiner. “We ended up fighting all season, so now we need to work hard over the winter to get a better car out there, as there are a lot of things within this team that are good.”
“We have got a race team that is always ready to race and a team who wants to do well. We just need to get better with the performance of the car. Then we will be okay,” he continued. “It’s not an easy task, but everyone is rolling their sleeves up and working hard to achieve it.”
Hulkenberg also expressed frustration over the limited advancements made by his team with its 2023 car, deeming it “disappointing and upsetting.” He noted that the team’s development efforts could have been more active, resulting in being outpaced by competitors. The Haas F1 team currently trails Alfa Romeo by four points in the standings.
“I think it just confirms my impression that the updated car didn’t really give a significant step,” said Hulkenberg. “They’re probably very, very similar in terms of performance. Which in itself, obviously, is not great, because with an update, you need it to work. So maybe proved a point there.”
“[It’s] very disappointing and upsetting for us,” he continued. “We’re not happy about this, of course. That’s the story of our season: we didn’t develop anything and totally got overtaken and out-developed, and hence, we are last today. That’s the root cause. So we need to really address going into next year.”
Haas had zero wins or podiums in the 2023 season. Red Bull finished on top with 860 points, 21 wins, and 30 podiums.
