Haas F1 Fan Journal

2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

There are many things which can be said about the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and many things which cannot. The race was fairly eventual, and the track has proven to be fairly competitive with its narrow passage ways and ultra smooth surfaces. But the event was not very well attended. It appears if the race is held in a ghost town. The entire race course is rife with empty overlooking balconies, and stark city scapes. There were some bleachers setup around the track, and only the most prime seats were taken. There was a croud of about 150 to 200 fans around the final race winning prize podium. There were actual echos in the empty streets ….

Lewis Hamilton easily won the race when his teammate Valtteri Bottas was retired from the race after a blow out. Daniel Ricciardo ran his Red Bull into his teammate Max Verstappen. As Ricciardo attempted to pass his teammate, Max mad two moves, to the right, then to the left. Ricciardo was taking too much speed into the corner and the second block by Max caused fireworks.

This was lap 40, and the safety car was deployed. At this time Romain Grosjean was running in a strong 6th position after pitting under caution. It was lap 43, while still under caution that Grosjean spun out, and crashed. This occurred before Bottas retired from the race, so it was realistic for Grosjean to finish 5th and score 10 points for the Haas squad.

Kevin Magnussen started the race 15th, and finished 13th. Nothing to see here…

Of note, Sergio Perez finished third for Force India, behind the Ferrari of Vettel.

What a boring race, and proof that the FIA will have a race anywhere on the planet for the right price.

Next… To the Continent, Espana’ The Spanish Grand Prix!

2018 Chinese Grand Prix

Hopes high for the Haas F1 Team….

The Haas boys Grosjean and Magnussen qualified in positions 10th and 11th respectively for the Chinese Grand Prix. By the end of the first lap they each moved up one place to 9th and 10th after Sergio Perez in his Force India lost 6 positions on his first lap and dropped from 8th to 14th.

It was lap 6 that the Haas Team orders came into play and Grosjean let his teammate pass. Grosjean was not happy. But 10 lap later Grosjean would pit, as he was on a 3 pit strategy while Magnussen was on a 2 stop strategy.. Throughout the race Kevin Magnussen managed to hold just within the top 10, as high as 8 throughout the middle of the race.

Magnussen would hold onto a single point in the 10th position, while Grosjean ended the race in 17th.

But perhaps the most spectatular aspet of thee race came in lap 31 when the two Toro Rosso cars hit each other and caused a safety car. Kevin Magnussen was able to sneak in and pit under yellow. This would save his points position. But more importatly to the race, both Red Bulls pitted in a stacked way, one right after the other. Verstappen’s Red Bull was in P4, and Riccardo P6 in his. Between them was the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen. ionen

Raikkonen was the first to fall and the Red Bulls were up to P4 and 5 respectively. One lap later on lap 39 Verstappen tried to pass the P3 car of Lewis Hamilton. But the pass was an ill attempt at a narrow gap which Lewis quickly closed. As a result Ricciardo was able to pass hiss teammate and begin chasing down Hamilton in his Mercedes. And by lap 40 Ricciardo was past the Silver Arrow. By lap 42 it was Max Verstappen to make it a one two punch for Red Bull on the four time Champion of Mercedes. And by the end of the 42 lap Daniel Ricciardo picked off the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.

It was lap 43 when Verstappen tried to pass the Ferrari of Vettel, they touched and both cars spun. Vettel’s run was over and Vettel would restart in 7th.

But it was lap 44 when Daniel Ricciardo passed Valtteri Bottas and took the race lead.

The decision of Red Bull to pit both cars on lap 33 was the winning move of the day. The Red Bulls were able to take full advantage of the new tires and dominate the competition. Verstappen was able to finally pass Hamilton on lap 48, to finish 4th.

1st, Ricciardo – Red Bull
2nd, Bottas – Mercedes
3rd, Raikkonen – Ferrari

Shoeys for everyone!!!

Next… Azerbaijan!

2018 Bahrain Grand Prix

It was Romain Grosjean who said “this is a win guys” after finishing 5 in the Bahrain Grand Prix, two years ago. And today it was his teammate kevin Magnessun who again matched Grosjean’s performance with today’s 2018 bahrain grand Prix.

Kevin Magnussed would qualify on the third row in the 6th position, and finish the race in 5th. Magnussen was relentless on track today. He upset Nico Kulkenberg around lap 9 when Magnusses forced the german in the Renaulkt off of the racing line, and onnto the part of the track covered is grass. As Magnusseson asserted himself on track I could hear him utter that familiar phrase from last years Hungarian Grand Prix.

For The Haas F1 Team is was first blood. Romain Grosjean would finish the race in P13. The 10 points for Magnussen is more than 1/3 of the total 29 points for Haas in 2016, and more than 1/5th of the 47 they scored in 2017. Once Romain Grosjean finds his groove, we will be seeing both Haas cars scoring points and fighting upstream forr more points, from the bigger teams.

So despite the disappointing start of the 2018 season, The Haas F1 Team has bounced back…

See you in China!

2018 Australian Grand Prix

The Haas F1 Team was fast throughout the entire Australian Grand Prix Weekend. The two Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean qualified in the sixth and seventh positions respectively. The fifth place qualifying Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo was penalized three starting grid positions for failure to slow down during a red flag in practice. This penalty for Riccardo moved both Haas cars up a spot and allowed the team to lock up the third row, the best starting positions for the team ever.
Magnussen had a fantastic start to the race and beat the fourth place Red Bull of Max Verstappen into turn 1 and immediately assumed P4. And by the end of the first two turns the Haas cars were in Positions 4 and 6. The Red Bull of Verstappen was sandwiched between the two Haas cars in P5 when during lap 10 the Red Bull spun out and Grosjean moved up into P5. The two Haas cars were running 4th and 5th by lap 11.
The spin by Verstappen put him back to P8 with Hulkenberg in his Renault in P7, Riccardo’s Red Bull P6, Grosjean’s Haas in P5 and his teammate Kevin Magnussen in P4. The 2018 season was off to a fantastic start for the third year American outfit until…
It was lap 23 when disaster first struck. Magnussen was the first to pit for Haas and returned to the running in P11 when he was forced to take his VF-18 onto the side of the track and retire the car. The left rear wheel of Magnussen’s car did not lock into position properly and the wheel not fouled. The Number 20 car of Kevin Magnussen was forced to retire with a loose wheel nut.
Then it was lap 25 when it happened again, Romain Grosjean was forced to retire with a loose left rear tire after his pit stop. Within three minutes time both Haas F1 Team cars were out of the Australian Grand Prix.
This result was a bitter pill to swallow for Haas F1 Fans. The team was vying for a potential podium and within a three-minute period the race was over for both cars. A 4th and 5th place finish would have rewarded the team 12 and 10 points; 22 points total. This is nearly half of the entire 2017 season points total of 49. But at the end of the day they earned zero points.
Expectations for the Haas team were high after the strong lap times in practice. But no one expected them to be the number four team, and leading the likes of McLaren, Renault, Williams or Force India, but they have. The team has improved their car, and they appear to have outpaced their nearest competitors. But the challenge which Haas faces is their capacity as a team. They have designed a car which can compete near the front. But they are still a small team with a single financier. The team lacked the capacity to expand to their new performance level, and the pit stop performances proved to be their weakest link.
Perhaps it is a cliché but, something had to give. Being a small team they lack the capacity to grow too quickly, and pit crew training suffered. The entire wheel must first be squarely mounted on the hub before the single wheel nut is tightened by the gunner. The case with both Haas cars was that the wheel was not squarely mounted on the hub before being tightened. Even with the wheel ajar, the wheel nut locked and there was no threat of either of the two mis-mounted wheels coming off. But both instances represent a unnsafe release of the car and we can expect penalties for the team. One thing we can be sure of, the Haas pit teams will be working on their pit stop training.
This picture of Romain Grosjean by @H_DeFormula was the take away image for the race.

To see Grosjean consulting a team member after the pit failure spoke volumes about Grosjean and the culture within the team. Grosjean knows that he will need that guy, and everyone else on the team, if he, Grosjean is to be successful. It was an endearing image and provided a silver lining of sorts. This is a fast team that made two crucial mistakes on their first pit stops. And Grosjean has already moved on.
For the Haas F1 Fans… we are disappointed. But we are also optimistic. The Haas cars are fast and this team is going to have a very competitive year. Competitors at McLaren and Renault have questioned the designs legality of the Haas car, calling it a “Baby Ferrari”. The situation was reviewed by F1 stewards. Those accusations were thrown out, and proved that the 2018 Haas F1 VF-18 Challenger is just very fast. We are in store for a great season…
Let’s call the Australian Grand Prix the Mulligan for the 2018 season. If they can maintain this performance throughout the year we can expect my double points races and perhaps the first Haas podium. Bring on Bahrain!!!

2018 Season Opening Comments….

The lights will go green in a few hours, and the Formula 1 season will be under way.

Some things have changed in Formula 1 since last season. First and foremost was the elimination of grid girls. We will no longer see these beautiful women in and around the F1 paddock. Personally, I’ll miss them and feel it is hypocritical to fire someone because you believe it is in their best interest. Call it a new F1 moral code.

Another change, which is perhaps more obvious to others is the addition of the halo protection system. This controversial change has got many F1 pundits and participants at odds with the governing body. The device was first described by someone to look like a flip flop. The story has taken off and flop flop sponsors have been secured.

Pirelli has added two additional rubber compounds to the series options. There are now nine different tire compounds in the Pirelli stable. I strongly recommend printing out a Pirelli color reference chart so you can remember the tire nomenclature and color codes.

The US broadcast rights for Formula 1 have moved from NBC to ESPN, an all sports network. The televised broadcast will be siphoned off of the UK based Sky Network feed. So we are meeting and learning about a whole new broadcast crew. That process has been… interesting to say the least. But that is a topic for another article.

But perhaps the most significant change from last year is the improved performance of the Haas Formula 1 team. The Haas VF-18 challenger has so far proven superior to the the rivals of McLaren, Williams, Renault, Force India, Toro-Rosso and Sauber. Consistently throughout testing and now up to qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, the Haas has been the hot car. It was just two short years ago that David Richards and Gary Anderson stated that Gene Haas was in for a “rude awakening”. Well there has been an awakening…. and it was not Gene Haas that was asleep.

2018 prospects are bright for the Haas team, and it’s fans. Kevin Magnussen Is starting 5th and Romain Grosjean lines up next to him in 6th. A three grid spot penalty for Daniel Riccardo’s caution flag violation and a third round qualifying shunt by Valtteri Bottas has put both drivers behind the Haas boys.

For the first time ever, the Haas F1 Team has a legitimate shot at earning a podium finish. They scored points in their very first race when Grosjean finished in 6th position 2016 Australian Grand Prix. At the time he said “this is like a win for us “. Two years later that winning expectation has taken root, and they are starting the 2018 Australian Grand Prix with fewer cars in front of them with their sights on a podium… Fantastic, Game On!

2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Post Race

Hopes for the Haas F1 Team were high going into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. With 47 points, American team was only 2 points behind the 7th place Renault Team. And Renault trailed Toro Rosso by 4 points, they had 53 points.

Neither of the two Toro Rosso or Haas cars scored points. Carlos Sainz had to retire his Lotus when on lap 32 the wheel nut was never replaced on his left front wheel after the tire was replaced. Nico Hulkenberg was in 6th place when Sainz retired, and that is where Hulkenberg finished.The 6th place finish added 6 construction points for Renault which gave them a total of 55, taking 6th place in the constructors championship from Toro Rosso.

For Haas… the 11th place finish is a reminder that we’re still working through some of our rookie problems. The rookie year may only include the first year, but they are seemingly still seeing some problems for the first time. So it takes time. But by all accounts, the Haas car is fast in a straight line. I’m also hearing on NBC that Haas has been focusing on their aero package; new designed and new engineering staff.

But hey, with 8th place, Haas F1 beat both McLaren F1 this year and Renault in 2016. But Haas needs fast and reliable power from Ferrari for 2018.

Regarding the drivers, Romain Grosjean actually scored one less point this year. In 2016, Grosjean was the only Haas driver to score any points. The top 10 race finishers score points in Formula 1. Esteban Gutierrez finished in 11th place, 5 times. Kevin Magnussen delivered 19 points for the Haas team in 2017.

The 19 points for Magnussen places him 14 in this years drivers companionship while Romain Grosjean finished 13th with his 28 points.

So that’s it. Thanksgiving weekend is over in the United States, the Formula 1 season is over, and the holidays officially begin.

We would like to extend a great thank you to the members of the Haas F1 Team. You are giving American Formula 1 fans a team they can be proud of. Happy Holidays to you all and good luck with that 2018 design!!

2017 Brazilian Grand Prix – Post Race

The Brazilian Grand Prix was over for the Haas F1 Team nearly as soon as the race started.

The senior Haas pilot, Romain Grosjean, qualified 12th and started 11th. The over performing, and not understated, Kevin Magnussen, qualified 14th and started 13th. It was a penalty to Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo which moved him back to the P14 for the race start and bumped everyone else up.

World Champion Lewis Hamilton started from pit lane

Kevin Magnussen’s race was over in turn 2 of lap 1 when he made contact with the Ricciardo. Clearly Daniel Ricciardo was trying to take real estate which did not exist. Magnussen responded in classic #SuckMyBalls fashion and both cars went spinning off of the track. Ricciardo would rejoin the race. For Magnussen, it was game over.

Grosjeans race was ruined on turn 6 of lap . As Grosjean fought to hold onto the inside lone against the attacking Force India of Esteban Ocon on the outside, The VF-17 chassis of the Haas machine lost grip as under-steer caused him st slide into Ocon. It was the first race retirement of Ocon’s 28 race Formula 1 racing career. It is sad that Ocon’s first DNF (did not finish) has to come at and of a Haas F1 car.

Grosjean finished in P15.

The Haas F1 Team entered this race just point behind Renault for 7th place in the constructors championship. Nico Hulkenberg drove his Renault to a P10 finish which put Haas 2 points behind Renault going into the last race of the season.

The race itself was interesting. Vettel would win for Ferrari. Valteri Bottas delivered 2nd for Mercedes and Kimi Rankonen put the second Ferrari on the third step.z Lewis Hamilton would early get a podium with a 4th place finish from his pit lane start. Danial would deliver has Red Bull to P6 after having to pit on lap 1.

But we’re not too concerned with the race results aside from Haas. And not very happy at the moment…. errrrrrrrrr!!!!!

2017 Grand Prix of Mexico – Post Race

Optimism has not been the order of the day for the Haas F1 Team lately. Their expectations for the United States Grand Prix were met with their results of 14th for Romain Grosjean and 16th Kevin “The Daring Dane” Magnussen.

The Mexican Grand Prix was won by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel scraped for the F1 Drivers Championship, but in the end Vettel’s P4 finish wasnot enough to prevent the fall of the 2017 F1 drivers championship to Lewis Hamilton.,

Like the US Grand Pris, expectations for the Grand Prix of Mexico were low for the most populat F1 team in Kanapolis North Carolina. The Haas cars qualified in the same 14th and 16th positions to which they finished the US Grand Prix, except it was Kevin Magnussen in the 14th position for the start of the Mexican Grand Prix as he out qualified Grosjean in 16th.

Kevin Magnussen was overlooked by many for the F1 Drive Of The day. He started 14th, and was up to the 12th position by lap 2. On lap 3 he was up to P10, a points scoring position, and he never looked back. On lap 4 Magnussen was up to P9 and it was lap 6 when he moved up to P8, which is where he finished. He did move up to as high as 6th on lap 20.

Kevin Magnussen earned the “Haas F1 Fans Mail Man Award” when he finished in the race in 8th position, which delivered 4 points for the Haas F1 Team. Romain Grosjean would finish in 15th place. But those 4 points from Magnussen would draw the Haas Team to within 1 point of Renault, in 7th place for the F1 Constructors Championship, and only 6 points from the Toro Rosso team with 53 points in 6th place.

Sixth place may sound like a tall order with only two races remaining, but it could happen if they get some help. Today that help came from Renault, or as they might be called today Re’no-no-no-no-no. Six cars are running Renault engines in the 2017 season, and five of those engines would fail today. The sixth engine was in the Red Bull of the race winner, Max Verstappen. Here is a list of the Renault engine failures

Lap 6 – Daniel Riccardo – Red Bull – Engine Failure
Lap 26 – Nico Hulkenberg – Renault – Engine Failure
Lap 32 – Brendon Hartley – Toro Rosso – Engine Failure
Lap 58 – Marcus Ericsson – Toro Rosso – Engine Failure
Lap 62 – Carlos Sainz – Renault – Engine Failure

The Renault engine failures could allow that 7th Constructors position held by Renault to fall to Haas. And those Toro Rosso cars also have Renault engines. Another bad weekend for the Renault engines and Haas could rise two places. Time will tell…

2017 CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS

POS	TEAM	PTS
1	MERCEDES	595
2	FERRARI	455
3	RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER	340
4	FORCE INDIA MERCEDES	175
5	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	76
6	TORO ROSSO	53
7	RENAULT	48
8	HAAS FERRARI	47
9	MCLAREN HONDA	24
10	SAUBER FERRARI	5

But the race delivered by Kevin Magnussen was an absolutely brilliant drive. On lap 47 Mercedes predicted that Lewis Hamilton would finish the race in P8. Vettel was forced to drop to the back of the pack on lap 1 when he had to pit for a new nose wing after it punctured the tire of Lewis Hamilton. Vettel and Hamilton would both fight from the back of the pack, Vettel would pass Magnussen, but Hamilton would not.

Magnussen held off both Alonso in his McLaren, and Hamilton in his Mercedes, for over twenty laps. The Haas car was able to maintain a race pace which the McLaren or Mercedes could not match. And Kevin “The Daring Dane” Magnussen drove his Haas VR-17 to perfection.

Haas F1 Fans extend their congratulations to to Lewis Hamilton on winning the 2017 F1 Drivers Championship. And also to Mercedes on wining the Constructors Championship.

But to be honest, we at Haas F1 Fans don’t give a crap about any of that. We’ve got our sights set on P6 in the Constructors Championship.

We will see you on November 12th in Brazil. Game on Re’no-no-no-no-no-no

2017 United States Grand Prix – Post Race

Lewis Hamilton has won the United States Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel remains alive in the championship fight with his second place finish.

next race…. Mexico!

That is basically the end of the story for this posting on the Haas F1 Fan Journal.

Romain Grosjean qualified 12th and finished 14th. Kevin Magnussen qualified 14th and finished 16th. The poor result should not over shadow the basic fact tat the Haas F1 Team has again brought both cars home. The reliability in the car will pay off in the future. Haas will be more competitive on another day. And on that day the Haas car will be ready.

2017 Japanese Grand Prix – Post Race

The results for the Japanese Grand Prix are in, and for the second time this season both Haas F1 Team cars finished in point winning positions. Starting from the 16th position on the starting grid, Romain Grosjean Powered his Haas VF-17 to a P8 finish. Kevin Magnussen finished in P10 after starting ahead of Grosjean in P13.

Lewis Hamilton was the winner of the race. The drivers championship as nearly fallen to Hamilton after the Ferrari driven by Sebastian Vettel retired in lap 5. Mechanics changed a spark plug on the grid before the race, so that was our first clue to a problem with Vettel’s power plant. After what appeared to be a failed cylinder, Vettel made that hard right turn into the pit lane to retire the car, and his championship hopes were done. Lewis Hamilton could win at the Formula 1 drivers championship with a win at the US Grand Prix in Austin Texas and a P6 or worse finish for Vettel.

Upon returning to the garage, Vettel sat in his car for a an extended moment. perhaps he was holding onto the last moment of the seasons hope for a championship. It was at that moment he had to accept the mathematical reality of the drivers championship standings. Drivers are mandated by Formula 1 to provide access and interviews for the media after races. Vettel waved to the crowd, did not meet the press, and left the track. A bitter pill…

But as to the race, it was a good one. On lap 44 the two Haas cars executed a double passed on the Williams racer of Felipe Massa.

Haas F1 is currently in 7th place in the constructors championship. While still in only their second year, and with only fours races remain, the American startup is ahead of Renault and McLaren.

Next stop for the F1 circus, Austin Texas, and the United States Grand Prix. The home Grand Prix for the Haas F1 Team and it’s fans!!! It’s gona be a hoot! See you at Circuit Of The Americas!