Month: September 2018

The Haas F1 team did not score points in the Singapore Grand Prix.

The race weekend started somewhat optimistic as Romain Grosjean was able to maintain good pace all weekend. He had strong practice sessions. He was able to qualify in the 8th starting position, and was in a strong position to deliver more points for Gene Haas. This was a good starting position and fans were optimistic.

Grosjean’s race ended when he had to pit for new tires after his 15^th lap of the race. He re-entered the race in 18^th position. At one point Grosjean did hold 12th place, but by the end he would finish a disappointing 15th position.

Kevin Magnusson had a bad weekend from the start. He never made it out of the first qualifying session and started 16th on the grid. Magnussen languished and finish the race in 18th position. A late race pit stop found Magnuson on a new set of super soft tires and a light flow load.  Magnuson was able to clock in the fastest lap of the race on lap 50 with a 1:41:905. The fastest lap was completely inconsequential and evidence of the fact that the Haas strategy was not as effective as they would have liked. It was too little too late for Kevin.

The post-race interview with Magnuson found him befuddled and Confused. When asked by the reporter what happened to his race weekend Magnussen had no response. You could tell that he was just completely stymied by the whole situation and he could not find pace in Singapore.

Next on the Formula 1 schedule is the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi. Last year Kevin magnussen finished 13th Romain Grosjean crashed on the opening lap with the Renault of Jolyon Palmer. Our expectations for the 2018 Russian Grand Prix are much higher. Haas F1 fans expect both cars to score points. The Haas F1 Fan tribal song… #BeatRenault

See you in Sochi.

Expectations at the Italian Grand Prix for the Haas F1 Team we’re probably as high as they have ever been in the team’s history. The Haas team was strong going into Monza. They are competing for that coveted fourth position in  the F1 Constructors Championship standings, otherwise known as “the best of the rest”. Meaning, 4th place after Mercedes, Ferrari and Redbull fight for the top three spots. A fourth-place Constructors finish is definitely within reach for the Haas F1 team, and would be a formidable achievement.

Romain Grosjean showed very good pace in qualifying and placed 6th starting grid. Kevin Magnussen ran into some problems during qualifying and did not make it to the third the second qualifying session. KMags started in in the 11th position. This is the first time in the last four races that both Haas cars did not reach the third qualifying round. Magnussed was visible disappointed with his qualifying performance.

Things did not improve for Kevin Magnussen. KMags dropped 2th position bfore the end of the first turn.  As the field filtered through turn one they and tried to avoid the spinning Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel. Vettel was tagged by Lewis Hamiltom and Vettel was the loser. Vettel was spun off of the track and had to rejoin the racing line after the traffic passed.  Magnussen exited turn 1 in 12th position. Four laps later he was forced to make a pit stop for four new tires due to contact with the Force India of Sergio Perez. Magnussen emerged in 19th position in his Haas VF18 challenger and would never recover. He finished in 17th place, ahead of only the DNF’s of both Alonso and Ricciardo.

Romain Grosjean was very competitive and ran a strong race. He was able to hold his 6th position throughout the race and finished in 6th place. His eight points are very helpful for the Haas F1 Team competition for the Constructors Championship with Renault F1. Both teams we’re at 84 points. Yes I said where.

Following the race Renault F1 file a complaint against the Haas F1 Team. They (Renault)  claimed that the Haas floor board was not legal and did not comply with the new specification. Renault won their complaint and the Haas F1 Team was stripped of it’s 8 race points for the Italian Grand Prix due to an illegal floor board. Renault is not my favorite team right now.. Haas is just going to have to kick their butt again and again and again.

The Italian Grand Prix was a great win for AMG Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen finished fifth ahead of Grosjean. The tifosi were broken after Vettel’s pirouette in turn one of lap one sent him spinning off to the back of the pack, but the German was able to pilot his Ferrari back to 4th Place. Valtteri bottas finish third. Kimi Raikkonen appeared on his 100th Formula 1 podium with that second place finish. All of that while Lewis Hamilton scored his 68th Formula 1 championship race win. “Get in there Lewis…”

But for the Haas team, they’ve got some work to do. The victory over Renault F1 will be all the more sweet. See you in Singapore