Formula 1 – Haas F1 Fan Journal

2019 Japanese Grand Prix

In a weekend interrupted by typhoon hagibis, the 2019 Japanese Grand prix found both qualifying and the race on the same day. Qualifying was dry and sunny but plagued with high winds.

During qualifying Kevin Magunssen was struck by a tailwind and found himself into the grass and spinning. The damage to his car seemed mostly cosmetic but he did start the race at the back of the pack since he did not post a qualifying time and the team had to change a gear box.

Romain Grosjean had a very good qualifying session. The flying Frenchman mad his way into the third round of qualifying yet started in the 10th position.

At the race start Magnussen jumped 6 positions to P13 and Grosjean dropped 4 positions just behind his teammate to 14th.

The Ferrari’s of Vettel and Leclerc locked out the first row with the German taking pole and his teammate in 2nd position. Vettel did not get a good start and both Ferrari’s were jumped by the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas. Leclerc tried found himself behind Verstappen’s Redbull by turn two. Leclerc tried to regain that spot at the inside of turn two and, forcing off the Redbull of Verstappen. Leclerc was forced to pit and change his front wing.

By lap 11 of the 53 lap race Magnussen was leading the two Haas cars were running 12th and 13th. But on lap 18 and 19 the two Haas cars pitted. Both cars were fitted with hard tires. We’re not sure which one stopped first. But fast forward to lap 22 and Grosjean was down to 15th and Magnussen was down to 18th.

After more midfield pitting in what appears will be a three stop race, lap 29, Grosjean P12, Magnussen P15.

With 10 laps remaining the Haas cars are running Grosjean 14th and Magnussen 16th.

Mercedes Finished first and third with Bottas taking the win and the Ferrari of Vettel splitting the Silver Arrows and taking second position. But with that finish Mercedes has clinched the 2019 constructors championship and their 6th in a row.

2019 Austrian Grand Prix

Kevin Magnussen finished fifth in qualifying, a blistering rate for the Haas car. He was given a five grid place penalty for an engine change, so he started 10th. His teammate, Romain Grosjean started 11th.

By the end of lap 2, Kevin Magnussen was still in 10th. Grosjean dropped 4 spots and was down to 15th. By lap 9 the Haas cars started to drop off. By lap 17 Kevin Magnussen was in dead last and Grosjean had dropped to 16th.

The problem for Magnussen was twofold. First of all, his car was past the line in his grid box. That required a pit lane pass through penalty. But the other problem, which effected both Haas cars were the tired. The tires on the Haas cars were developing a burnt crust on the outer layer of their tired. The inside of the tires were not heating up, and the cars were not performing.

The Austrian Grand Prix was a 71 lap race around the 2.7 miles Redbull ring. Lap 35 was the mid way point, and found the Haas car of Grosjean in 16th, and Magnussen in 19th positions. That is where the pair would finish.

The race was won by Max Verstappen in his Red Bull. The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was the car to beat all weekend . He was fastest in practice, and started the race on pole. Leclerc lead the race until lap 69, when max Verstappen lunged in a huge racing move to take the lead. Valtteri Bottas would take the third step of the podium… ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

For the Haas squad… the performance is difficult to accept. Obviously the team is doing everything that they can. The overheating of the tires is on the team; the drivers cannot overcome that difficulty. But I’m not to sure Grosjean is not facing other difficulties. Race after race he continues to lose positions on the first lap. These are positions he never gets back. The die is cast for 2019. I think it is time to start thinking about 2020…..

Next, Silverstone, and the British Grand Prix.

2019 Australian Grand Prix

Formula 1 racing is off to start the 2019 season with the Australian Grand Prix. In what was a terrific race, there are lots of story lines, but first, on with the Rich Energy Haas F1 Team.

Kevin Magnussen started the race in the 7th position and finished 6th, earning 8 points for both the team and himself.

Grosjean had a monster qualifying round and started ahead of his teammate in 6th position. Like 2018, the day was aligning up for a big points total for the Haas squad. But again like 2018, lightning struck again. Grosjean pitted on lap 16, and the car was delayed on the stop due to problems with the left front tire. It was odd when 16 laps later, lap 32, that Grosjean retired from the race with a loose left front wheel… his right front wheel came off and needed to be re-tired!!! But I say odd because replay indicates no problems with that left front tire for the sixteen laps following the pit stop. Onboard footage of Grosjean’s lap 27 pass of the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi clearly indicates that the left front wheel is still attached and spinning perfectly. The wheel nuts are designed to either lock, but a failed or mis-installed wheel nut usually become immediately apparent. Odd that it took Grosjean’s left front wheel three laps to come loose.

The pendulum of good fortune swung in Magnussen’s direction when he pitted. His primary concern was re-entering the race on lap 15 after the pit ahead of his Renault competitor Nico Hulkenberg, and he did. It was a key moment in KMags race, and the team pulled it off. Magnussen ended up back in 6th position after Grosjean’s retirement, and only lost that position after his pitstop as cars ahead of him extended out their first pit stops.

So for Haas it was a great score of 8 points, but it should have been 14. But one thing for sure, The Rich Energy Haas F1 Team is fast…. Faster than the entire F1.5 field so far.

Aside from the Haas team, there were other story lines worth mentioning.

Valtteri Bottas dominated the day for both his team and the field. Bottas emerged into 2019 much more focused and determined than where he left off in 2018. There were reports of Valtteri doing some serious soul-searching over the off-season, and it was apparent, straight away. His demeanor was much more focused. There is no other way to put it but, he seemed a bit less nice to his teammate, Lewis Hamilton. Last year he saw Lewis as his teammate first. This year Bottas seems to be looking at Hamilton a bit more as a competitor first, and teammate second.

But Bottas was brilliant all day. Lewis Hamilton started on pole, and Bottas lined up in the second position. It was an all Mercedes front row. Bottas was ahead of his teammate by the time he exited turn 1, and never looked back. Bottas was taking his Silver Arrow to the limit, and the 5 time world champion Lewis Hamilton, in equal equipment, could not catch him all day. The teammates’ composure after the race was also telling. Bottas spoke with a sincere sense of possibility, while Hamilton was clearly looking for answers. 2019 may be the year we see another Finnish F1 Champion… if he keeps this up. But it’s a long season.

The big story for the local F1 fans in Australia was Daniel Ricciardo’s first appearance with Renault F1. His day was done before turn 1.

Ricciardo started the race in P12, one spot behind his teammate Nico Hulkenberg. During the sprint for turn 1 at the start of the race, Ricciardo took the inside line. He got a bit squeezed and was forced into the grass. His front wing caught some grass and was completely destroyed. It broke off of his car and flew away. Luckily his car was not broken otherwise, so he pitted ad received a new front wing. Unfortunately he re-entered the race at the back of the pack. Ricciardo ended up retiring from the race in lap 31, the third retirement from his home grand prix.

I have to wonder what Ricciardo was thinking when he left Red Bull. He had terrible reliability issues last year at Red Bull with that Renault engine. This year Renault is using Honda engines. So what does Ricciardo do? He moves to Renault? I expected Renault to compete for the front last year, and they did not. What did Ricciardo see which encouraged him? I’m not sure…. Sometimes that change of scenery seems like a good thing at the time. Regardless… his Red Bull replacement driver, Pierre Gasly is not proving to be a threat to Haas, so all is good with the world.

So that is it for week 1 in the 2019 Formula 1 season. It looks like the Haas car is very fast and clearly the favorite for the mid pack race… 4th position in the constructors championship is realistic. If Grosjean can get a clean race under his belt the team will be hard to beat!!!

Great job Rich Energy Haas F1 Team! See you in Bahrain!

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 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!

2017 Bahrain Grand Prix – Post Race

Sebastian Vettel has won the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix in fantastic fashion. His 6.5 second gap to the second place car of Lewis Hamilton enjoyed the benefit of a 5 second penalty against Hamilton. But none the less, Vettel far out performed his team mate Kimi Raikkonen. The bells of Maranello may be ringing for Vettel, but I think Kimi’s head is ringing, along with that of Valtteri Bottas.

Valtteri Bottas took his first ever Formula 1 pole yesterday. The Finn was flying high and redeemed his unforgivable error of spinning under caution in China. But by the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix he was clearly delegated to the second driver position in the AMG Mercedes stable. Bottas out qualified the 3 time world champion and Hamilton was hearty in his recognition of the fact. But fighting under anger, Hamilton demonstrates a pace that can match.

Towards the end of the race, a trailing Hamilton, chased Bottas down, was given the pass under team orders, and beat Bottas in the race by nearly 14 seconds.

As Hamilton and Vettel battle at the front for the top step of the podium, their seconds languished nearly 20 seconds behind, (with penalty applied), battling for the scraps of the podium.

Romain Grosjean gets the Mailman award from the Haas F1 Fan journal. His 9th place finish delivered 4 points to the team! This gives the team a total of 8 points and places them 7th in the F1 constructors championship.

The day did not go so well for the junior Haas driver, Kevin Magnussen. The young Dane started in the 20th position and retired on lap 9 and was the first of the race. The commentary on NBC broadcast during the race was that the failure was due to the MGU-K. The MGU-K is essentially an electric motor that mechanically connects to the engines main crank shaft. That motor can be used as a drag component, which also generates electricity, or as an electric motor, which assists the main engine crank and helps spin the the turbo charged combustion engine.

Magnussens MGU-K failed… KMags was done.

From there on the show was all about Vettel and Hamilton. Romain Grosjean’s race was never really threatened. We can just hope that MGU-K unit failure in the #20 car was a one off. At no time during the race did we hear concern from the Haas team over Grosjean’s MGU-K.

The Scuderia Ferrari is leading the Formula 1 Championship by 13 points, who’da thunk it?

But this is the Haas F1 Journal…

The Haas cars are running those same Ferrari engines. KMag’s MGU-K aside, we’re optimistic.

so WELL DONE Romain Grosjean and the Haas F1 Team.

We’ll see you all on April 27th in Sochi.

Happy Easter All!

2016 Austrian Grand Prix – Race Final

Esteban Gutiérrez recently outperformed his teammate Romain Grosjean at the Spanish, Monaco and Canadian Grand Prix’s. Both in Spain and Monaco Esteban finished 11th, nearly capturing his first points for the Haas F1 Team. Though he did fall behind his team mate at the European Grand Prix, we’ve been seeing a surge in Esteban’s performance. And that dominance continued through qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. Esteban Gutiérrez started 11th while Romain Grosjean started 13th.

At the end of the day Gutiérrez finished where he started, 11th. But Romain Grosjean again brought the Ferrari powered Haas car back into points by finishing 7th. The Haas F1 team is firmly planted in the 8th constructors championship standing with 28 points and only 4 points behind Mclaren. And Jenson Button surely gave his Mclaren team a lift with his 6th place finish. The silver lining for the Haas Team is that both of their cars finished today. Fernando Alonso alone has as many DNF’s as the entire Haas team with 3 total. Button had two DNF’s himself. As the Haas Team pushes their cars harder towards the front there will be an impact on reliability. But this is the payoff we are looking to capitalize on, and reliability can be what turns those three Gutiérrez P11 finishes into points.

But for our man Romain Grosjean, what can we say… he just delivers. He spent half of the Austrian Grand Prix fighting off the Force India of Carlos Sainz and the Williams of Valtteri Bottas. The Haas car was giving Romain the horses he needed to fight the two Mercedes powered cars. Grosjean never gave his opponents a clean opportunity to pass and was at times threatening the Mclaren of Button in front of him. And because he was consistently less than one second behind Button, Grosjean never lost a DRS zone advantage. So he stayed pace with the competitors behind him .

So the Austrian Grand Prix is a good start to what promises to be a very busy July. From Austria the teams travel to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix on July 10th. Two weeks later on July 24th the teams meet at the Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix. A week later on July 31st is the German Grand Prix. With the Austrian race being the first of four races this month, the teams will be looking forward to their summer break in August.

So onto Silverstone for the Haas F1 Team and their fans. Our goal is to outperform McClaren on their home turf and close the four point gap with them. From there we set our sights on the Toro Rosso team, currently only leading the Haas team by only 8 points…

There are three more races until the summer break. A constructors championship goal of 7th before the break is not unreasonable. Their 8th place position in the constructors championship is safe with Renault lagging behind by 22 points in 9th place. So not only has the team already over performed beyond expectations, they’ve do so with little threat of losing their 8th place standing. With three races remaining before the half way point, the team is in a position to make a 4 point gain on McClaren and go into the break in 7th place! That may be a shade optimistic, but the luck factor does seem to play huge in F1. And considering how experienced Gene Haas is at running a race team, the luck might just continue.

But for today… Well done Haas F1 Team!!! Way to Represent!!!

2016 Chinese Grand Prix – We Go Green in 3 Hours

So the Haas boys, Grosjean and Gutierrez have qualified 14 and 18 respectively.

Qualifying position is not that important to me right now, not do i think the team cares too much. The drivers do… and they should. so all is right with the Haas F1 world.

The next goal is to have both cars through turn 6 unskaved and picking up the positions for the cars that are… skaved! The turn 1-2-3-4 combination is like a combination cork screw/ meat grinder, it is forced down into turn 5, which is more of a bottleneck than a turn and into 6. Position and exit speed at turn 6 could be the setup until either the first caution or cycle of pit stops.

I think Daniel Riccardo is the one to watch. I picked him in my pre-quali blog that he will be fast, and he is. But i think we are starting to see an 800 pound gorilla in the room. I don’t have evidence to support my claim without doing some research, but… I think Danny Kvyat is underperforming. His result will give us a baseline of where he will be in regard to his team-mate.

I am detecting a sub-plot within the Haas team. Previously I questioned weather Gutierrez got the prototype car, which might explain the mechanical issues. The term “bad luck” has been used in regard to his two DNF’s. But Esteban seems very insistent on disclaiming that term. When interviewed by Will Buxton during the China GP weekend Gutierrez was persistent to identify specific causes for every technical problem. He seemed uncomfortable with any attribution of luck to his results. It is difficult for many to understand why he would care about these remarks. But it is very important that he control his psyche.

When an F1 driver is on the track in the heat of battle for championship points, luck does not enter the focus. Like a fighter pilot, he is strapped into a machine that needs to respond predictably and instinctively. It is the mental preparation of work and discipline that prepares the driver to jump into a mental tunnel at 200 mph. At no point in any of that process does luck enter into it.

If the mechanical and electrical issues on the #21 car are resolved, and if the car finishes the race, I expect Gutierrez to perform well. My overall expectations are somewhat tempered. I want to say that I think Romain Grosjean will finish in the top 5 or 6 as before. But I cannot. The Mercedes powered force India’s and Williams tool very strong. Grosjean is starting in the 14th position, so he will have to find a way to move up. He seems to have the race pace to perform, but a better qualifying position should also be expected.

So, if Grosjean can finish with in points, and Gutierrez can just finish, I’ll be happy. And I suspect the teams expectations to be about the same. The team is fighting to develop their car. We’ve seen improvements in the front wing already. 14th and 18th are not very strong qualifying positions. Grosjean/Gutierrez qualified 19/20 for Australia and 9/13 in Bahrain. The new qualifying format did not seem to indicate or impact their race performance. And like I said, I’m not too concerned with their current qualifying position. They seem to out perform their expectations. Clearly the Haas F1 team is one of the most prepared rookie teams to take up an F1 livery. Preparation cannot make a car faster than it really is. Will power and wishful thinking won’t work either.

If ever there is a place to attribute luck in F1, it is when you gain a race position due to a competitors mechanical failure. A timely pit stop under caution like in Australia can also be partially attributed to luck. But luck is something which you cannot control or plan on. My favorite quote regarding luck comes from the actor James Earl Jones… “The harder I work the luckier I get”

Again, my expectations for the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix are realistic… a race finish for Guiterrez and a top 10 for Grosjean and I’ll be dancing. But now knowing what we know about how Haas has built his team, it will be hard to temper excitement. But for now… a 2 hour nap before the 2 AM Kannapolis race start time is worth a try!

It’s gonna be awesome!

Richie OUT!

2016 Chinese Grand Prix – Qualifying is Next!

So here we are, the 2016 Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix… it is Friday night on the East Coast US. At midnight we get the hour long FP3. Qualifying goes off at 3:00 AM. The sleep cycle during race weekends in Asia can be challenging. But with our own team, Haas F1 Team, sleep almost becomes optional.

After the first two practice sessions the Haas F1 has again had gremlins on Esteban Gutierrez’s side of the garage. His car returned to the garage with his rear brakes in flames. There was an electrical issue with this brakes; something about brake bias. Who knows. Again it is the #8 car with issues. It has got to be wearing on Esteban’s confidence. I was wondering if Grosjean got car #2 and Esteban got the prototype? With this being the first season for the team, all they have is their prototype plus 1 car. Or are they not running the prototype? Ah but if I only had access; these are the questions I’d ask.

Early Expectations: My expectation is that both cars will make it into Q2. I am going to assume that both cars will be running fine for the full qualifying session. But we have not had the third full practice yet. Gutierrez needs to get as many laps under his belt as possible. I still don’t think he’s has the the time yet to fully set his bench mark. If the car is running well and has no mechanical or electrical issues, is not hit from behind, or the car does not melt in the rain… A top 10 finish is not completely unreasonable to predict. A top 15 finish is probably more realistic. But again, we have no real bench mark on Esteban Gutierrez, and an opportune caution or mechanical attrition, and he could surprise us all. My jury is still out on Esteban, but I’ve seen no reason to expect anything than great results. But I do need more.

Romain Grosjean will be limited only by his car. Any rain conditions during qualifying or the race will be an advantage to Grosjean. His driving performance during the first two races have been just stellar. He’s got the skill, talent and aptitude Gene Haas needs. Not only is Grosjean helping with the development of the car, but he has the wherewithal to compete towards the front with confidence. A new car at the front is one thing, but having a driver who feels he belongs there is another. Again, I believe that no other driver would have achieved more in that Haas seat than Grosjean.

So, Grosjean. It all depends on how fast his car is. The williams cars have traditionally demonstrated very good top end speed on the long straights. And China has the longest straight in Formula 1 at 1170 meters/3838 feet. That is over .7 of a mile and a lot of ground to cover. But with DRS, tire strategies, a divine wind and a handshake, perhaps those Haas cars can excel in the long straights. We really don’t know. But surely the team is on top of the situation. That new front nose has some really special science going on and the car will be fast without a loss in downforce… it’s really special science.

In Bahrain the Haas outfit seemed to have the pace to keep the competition at bay. But I must admit… I have a huge fear about this race. The first 4 turns happen real fast, and they are going fast into turns 5 and 6. A mid-pack shatter session seems almost unavoidable as the entro to turn 1 gyrates 270 degrees, then gyrates 270 degrees again, exiting out of turn 4. That many cars trying to squeze through that nasty section can only mean trouble, and it is most important for both Haas cars to exit turn 6 unskathed. The aggressiveness and immaturity of 1 driver is all it takes to ruin your entire effort. And yes I am refering to Max Verstappen, or as named him last year “Max Vernotstoppin”.

For the Haas team, the narrative continues. They are still a new team. Play it conservative. Completing the race with both cars is the first goal. It is reasonable to expect points. If we can bring both cars home, we can overtake Williams for 4th place in the constructors championship. Williams 20 points leads Haas by only 2. give me two healthy Haas cars out of turn 6 on the first lap of the race and we’re on our way!

2 hours till FP3, 5 hours until qualifying!

Go Haas!