Haas automation – Haas F1 Fan Journal

2019 Bahrain Grand Prix

The race was a disaster for the Rich Energy Haas F1 Team. The team had a strong weekend throughout practice, and had a very promising qualifying session as both cars reached Q3 and finished with the Haas car of Magnussen qualifying in P6, and Grosjean in P8. Grosjean was levied a 3 place penalty for blocking the Mclaren of Lando Norris, so the Haas cars started 6th and 11th respectively.

Lap 1 was the beginning to the end of romain Grosjean’s day. He was bumped off track in the first turn by the pink Racing Point Force India of Lance Stroll. Grosjean returned to the race in last place. He later retired from the race in lap 18 with damage sustained by the lap 1 impact by Stroll. Two races and two retirements for Grosjean. His season can only get better… we hope.

For Magnussen, he ended the race in P13. No points for the Haas team.

Magnussen lost one position by the end of lap one and was down to P7. Magnussen was loosing pace early and could not maintain pace. By lap 11 he was down to 14th position. He pitted on the 11th lap, returned in 15th position, which is where he would remain for the the rest of the race. With just 3 laps remaining, as if on queue, both Renaults of Hulkenberg and Ricciardo blew up and experienced catastrophic engine failure. It was almost scary how both engines failed at the same time. But those two retirements would inch magnussen up to P13, but still no points for the Haas team.

But as to the race, it was a an epic win for Lewis Hamilton, with his teammate Valtteri Bottas taking second. Charles Leclerc was leading the race with 10 laps remaining when he lost the HTU hybrid recovery unit on his Ferrari. Leclerc was under power, but slower. The two Mercedes Silver Arrows were able to overtake the wounded Ferrari, and max Verstappen was lining up the Ferrari himself when the two aforementioned Renaults failed, bringing out the safety car, and saving Leclerc from the clutches of Verstappen’s Red Bull. The race would finish under caution and Leclerc would take the first F1 podium in his short career.

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 Singapore Grand Prix – Post Race

The Formula 1 Grand Prix at Singapore is perhaps one of the most exotic races on the F1 calendar. It is a night race which takes place on a lighted street circuit on the streets of Singapore, and has a video game aspect to the broadcast. The political intrigue surrounding the country entices feelings of a still far off place with back alleys and lurking uncertainties. In this regard, the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix did not disappoint.

Rain was falling before the race as teams prepared their cars on the starting grid. The rain stopped by the start of the race, but it was wet. With Vettel on pole and Verstappen lined up to his left on the front row, the race start was a sprint to turn one. As Vettel launched for his start he started to fade sharply to the left in an attempt to block the Redbull of Max Verstappen. What Vettel did not realize was that the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen was closing to the inside, and the gap between the three cars did close rather quickly. By the time they reached turn 1 the three cars smashed and were out of the race. I must say that I did predict that Vettel nor Verstappen would make it past turn 1. Max and Seb have similar approaches to dealing with aggression; their fists are already clinched and ready to throw. Clearly it was Vettels fault. But I digress…

As to the race… Romain Grosjean get the Haas F1 Fans Mail Man Award f.or delivering points to Gene Haas. In a very ho hum fashion Romain Grosjean qualified 15th. He just squeaked into the second qualifying round as his teammate Kevin Magnussen did not and started 16th. But in the end Grosjean finished in 9th place and earned 2 points for both himself and the Haas F1 Team.

Kevin Magnussen did not have such a ho hum race but did not finish. On the 26th lap of the race the Haas Team decided to be the first team to try full dry tires. Kevin Magnussen pitted for a set of Ultrasoft Pirelli’s and his lap times began to drop significantly. But despite his jump in speed he never really capitalized on the improvement. The rest of the field jumped to dry tires and Magnussen remained in the P13 position. On the 51st lap of the race KMags lost the hybrid drive in his Haas VF-17, and his day was done.

So Haas gets 2 points… in 8th place for the constructors championship with 37 points. In two weeks, Malaysia!

2017 CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS

POS	TEAM	PTS
1	MERCEDES	475
2	FERRARI	373
3	RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER	230
4	FORCE INDIA MERCEDES	124
5	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	59
6	TORO ROSSO	52
7	RENAULT	42
8	HAAS FERRARI	37
9	MCLAREN HONDA	17
10	SAUBER FERRARI	5

2017 Austrian Grand Prix – Race Review

With a waft of summer edelweiss in the air, Romain Grosjean finished 6th place in the Austrian Grand Prix with his Haas F1 Team car. With the finish Grosjean claims 8 more points and stands with a total of 18 points for the year in the 2017 F1 Drivers championship. He’s tied with the Williams of Lance Stroll and the Renault of Nico Hulkenberg who also have 18 points for positions 11 thru 13. The other Haas car of Kevin Magnussen sits in that 14th spot with 11 points.

The Haas F1 Team has solidified their hold on the 7th spot in the constructors championship. Renault entered this race with 18 points to the 21 of Haas. Those yellow Renault cars could not keep up and finished out of the top 10 and therefore score no points. The deficit of by the French team will allow the Americans to make a leap in pursuit of the next constructor in the standings, Toro Rosso. With 33 points, the Toro Roso’s of Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat are loosing ground to the Haas Team… the game is afoot.

As for the race… Romain Grosjean was fast all week. Both of the Haas Cars were in the top 10 for all three practice sessions leading up to qualifying. Grosjean Qualified 7th, and started 6th, when Lewis Hamilton was bumped back 5 grid spots for a transmission swap penalty. Kevin Magnussen experienced a rear suspension failure during the first session of qualifying. Despite not completing the the first qualifying session he still completed a lap fast enough to place him 15th on the grid…

In the world of woulda, coulda, shoulda. KMags shoulda scored points. His pre-race bout with the gremlin stick continued into the race as smoke began to pour from the rear of the Dane’s Ferrari in the 29th lap. With a race distance of 71 laps, Magnesium woulda had plenty of time to advance one more position into the top 10 and the points. With both Toro Rosso’s and Renault’s finishing way back, this mechanical failure can directly attribute to the loss of at least one point. Despite the lack of points, both the driver and car demonstrated that they have the pace to lead the mid pack.

Romain Grosjean gets the Mailman award… he carried the mail and delivered 8 points for Gene Haas. Grosjean maintained his relative position the entire race. He nor the team made any mistakes and the car was fast. The Ferrari powered Haas VF-17 is proving to be a fast car. And did anyone notice… no mention of brakes from Grosjean. Has Haas worked out the brake problems on the number 08 car? We shall see.

The next stop for the F1 circus is Silverstone and the British Grand Prix. Let’s see if the the Haas F1 Team can maintain the pace of fast, mistake free racing and race craft and conquer that 6th position ion the constructors championship from Toro Rosso…

Until then……. tally ho!

2017 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying – Romain Grosjean Shines!

Romain Grosjean qualified 8th for the Monaco Grand Prix. The Haas car performed well despite a very near miss by Grosjean when he spun at Mirabeau during the second stage of qualifying.

Both Grosjean and the Haas car performed well. the car also performed well for Kevin Magnussen. KMags was on an absolute flier during Q2 when he was blocked on track by none other than the….. Languishing Lewis Hamilton. As a result, Magnussen will start the race in P13.

If ever there was an opportunity for the Haas F1 Team to campaign two cars in a third stage of qualifying, it was today. The cars of Force India driven by Sergio Perez and the Toro Roso car of Carlos Sainz both out paced the Haas machine of Grosjean. This keeps Haas third in that pecking order behind the leaders. But the car has out performed most fans expectations. Maybe I’ll read about brake problems, but I’ve not heard a peep of the “B” word…

Regarding Lewis……

I don’t think the problem was the car. He seemed to be over inputting everything. The oversteer had him sideways. And all of that vertical slip is time…. and if piled up in heaps. He knows this track as well as anyone. His teammate was first after the Ferrari’s. Lewis can tend to be a bit of emotional about things at times while in the cockpit. That emotion generally serves him well. We’ve seen Lewis tear up the field from the back of the grid. But no one does that at Monaco…

Regarding Pole…. Kimi Raikkonen was brilliant. 4/100’s of a second separate the first 3 cars of Raikkonen, Vettel, and Bottas. The Ferrari’s were delivering top performance for their drivers. Sebastian Vettel was grabbing all of the attention before qualifying. He, Like Hamilton, have a storied record at Monaco, but only has one win in 2011. Hamilton has won the Monaco Grand Prix twice, in 2008 and last years 2016 race.

As you may recall, Hamilton;s 2016 victory was tainted with the controversy of Justin Bieber. Upon taking his magnum of victory Campaign, he gave the first sip to Bieber. The 2017 Monaco Grand Prix promises to be a Bieber Free Event… as Lewis has no shot at a victory. His best hope is for attrition at the front of the field.

But for the Haas F1 team? They are in a good position to score double points.There will be some failures in front of Magnussen. He has had better than averages race starts and has been faster than his team mate at times. With some luck and effective strategy, the Haas team can see some success at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix.

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 Italian Grand Prix – Pre Race

Esteban Gutiérrez has qualified 10th for the 2016 Italian Grand Prix. He is the first driver to take a Haas F1 car into the third qualifying round for any race.

The team rolled out a special wing for the Italian Grand Prix. The leading edge of the wing is shaped in the form of a “W”.

Mercedes is utilizing a wing with a leading edge shaped like an elongated V. But the Haas design doubles this form factor in a waving fashion. Visually the two wings look different from the standard flat plank the Haas team and most others run. But what is the advantage of the wave in the wing? How does this help the car go faster? Does it provide more or less downforce then a standard wing? These are the many questions I was asking, and not a single NBC analyst dared to tackle the design impact, including Steve Matchette. I was disappointed.

The new wing on the Haas F1 car has two intended purposes; greater downforce and better stability in high speed turns. Down force is not the only application of Bernoulli’s principle at work here, and not what Haas and AMG Mercedes are chasing with their designs.

Building curves into the wing effectively makes it longer. Just as a shoe lace looks shorter while in the package, it stretches out when you unwind it. In the same way both Haas and Mercedes have done this. Adding a second wing is an alternate approach to lengthening the wing. So why the wave? Wouldn’t a wave increase the drag? Well yes is does to an extent. And it creates vertical down force. But the teams are chasing another aeronautical dynamic, the vertical component of lift.

The vertical component of lift is what allows air planes to turn. Ailerons on the wings is how the pilot controls this force, along with their rudder and elevator. As the pilot turns his wheel to the left, the aileron on the right drops down, which causes the wing to go up. The lift which raises the plane can be directed sideways and cause the plane to turn. To assist in turning an airplane, some wings are not flat but have an upward bend built into it, or dihedral. Remember that a race car wing is like an airplane wing, but upside down . So the AMG Mercedes uses a single bend inverted design or dihedral. The Haas wing has 2 bends on each side, polyhedral.

So as the Haas and AMG Mercedes cars are driving in a straight line there are downward forces coming off of the wing, perpendicular to the wing surface. The AMG Mercedes wing spreads it’s down force in the shape of an umbrella. The downward forces on the Haas wing spread in an even more lateral or sideways direction. As the car enters a turn the down forces on the back of the car will become asymmetrical. The vertical component of lift can be used to help get the car around the corner. I suspect that these aerodynamics are only beneficial at high speeds. So at a track with high speed turns, like Monza, the benefits can be realized. On a slower track the beneficial vertical down force may be negligible and drag inducing. It would require a conversation with the design team to fully understand the aerodynamic nuances… wouldn’t that be cool! I digress…

So the new Haas wing is exciting. The car is faster and lookes very stable…

From the beginning I’ve been touting the reliability of the Haas Team… reliability… race craft… over and over. Well today Esteban Gutierrez essentially addressed my point in an interview with Will Buxton, and i paraphrase, ” since we’ve been consistent we’ve then been able to focus on things that will help us”. The reliability s paying off. After all of those 11th place finishes, he has broken into the top 10.

Grosjean qualified 12th but will start 17th due to a 5 place penalty for his transmission swap. Yes I call it a transmission, not a gearbox. My 5 speed Honda Accord has a gearbox!

Again it comes down to the start. Esteban and Romain have both had good starts and escaped turn 1 unscathed. Let’s believe the same is going to happen. Dare I say they could have not one but two cars in points? I believe Esteban Gutierrez will score his first points for Haas F1. And if Grosjean can manage his tires, I believe he can move up. Points are not out of the question for both drivers. The car’s were especially fast in qualifying. The Team did not post a time for Gutierrez until the very end of Q3, which concerned me. But I believe they were conceding the effort. P10 puts him on the outside of the track and a safer vantage point into turn 1. It was a safe play…

Can the team maintain it’s advantage throughout the race? Have the Haas cars improved? It sure looks like it. A single mistake by a competitor could make the difference. The Haas Team has not made any significant mistakes on race day. This is going to be an exciting and fast race.

Go Haas F1 Team!!!!

It’s Monza… and the Americans are in the house!!!

2016 Monaco Grand Prix – Race Preview

Red Bull is bringing their “A” game to the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix. They have developed a new engine, but only have one ready. Despite the amazing victory by Max Verstappen in Spain, the decision was a no brainer for the engine choice nod to go to Daniel Riccardo.

After watching the first two practice sessions the general consensus seems to be that Red bull is the likely candidate for pole, and Riccardo’s lead after P2 seems to support that. But rewind and contrast to the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix. Vettel took his first victory in a Ferrari after only his second drive for the team. It was what would become the beginning of a culture of complaining being expressed by the Red Bull Team principal. The noise coming from the Red Bull camp seemed to simmer down once their motor contract issues were resolved late in the 2015 season. Max Verstappen’s win in Spain has solidified their belief that they can win with this car, and the Monaco circuit suites the Red Bull chassis well. The Planets are aligned and Christian Horner seems poised to have his revenge.

I know this is the Haas F1 Journal, but the discussion must begin with pole position. Passing on the Monaco circuit generally comes at the cost of a mistake by another driver. But the narrow roads that twist up and down the steep grades of the mediterranean fishing village were too dangerous for racing in the 1950’s. I would place the odds of a yellow flag after turn 1 at over 50% in favor of a “coming together” if not worse. If the team can qualify well, not lose position or contention because of crashing, and the attrition rate in front of them is high, the Haas F1 Team can score points. There are a lot “if’s” in that sentence, but the Haas Team is at even odds with the rest of the pack in that regard. The racecraft that Gene Haas brings to the F1 paddock could be the difference in a position or whether they score points. Attrition is generally beyond the control of the team. But mistakes can be less forgiving at Monaco. A stuck wheel spinner during a pit stop could mean a position. So having the fastest car on pole should give you the best opportunity to clear turn 1 as the leader. The odds for trouble escalates as you work your way back through the first few rows of legitimate contenders. It is that next group of teams where Haas has demonstrated good pace to compete, among the mid-pack teams.

Now this is a new team, but the learning curve is steep. There is a very real possibility for the Haas F1 Team to score points in Monaco. But can they put 2 cars in the money? It’s really difficult to objectively say. Esteban Gutierrez finished Practice 2 in 13th position and Romain Grosjean in 15th. The Haas racecraft has proven effective up to this point. But is Monaco the “eye opener” the Haas detractors spoke of before the season started? Could be.

Like I said, the learning curve is steep and there is less room for mistakes at Monaco. The Haas drivers will be up to the task. I have complete confidence in Romain Grosjean and am modestly optimistic. In Spain Grosjean qualified in 13th position. Gutierrez anchored the last position from the Q2 qualifiers in 15th position. That is about where we should realistically expect them to qualify for Monaco. Can they score points from that far back? The Ferrari power in the Haas car has demonstrated the ability to keep the mid pack at bey when their tires hold out. Perhaps tire strategy could come into play?

The Ultra Soft Pirelli’s seem to be a bit… “floaty” during practice. The side walls do not appear to be matching the design metrics or load balancing intent of the suspension. Commentators on NBC indicated that more rear wing down force is required to keep the back ends of the cars planted. But a sidewall performance issue can only be negated by the rear downforce, not corrected. If the side walls of the front tires are providing varied load transfer to the suspension then a suspension adjustment is required first. But vehicle dynamics can be more of an art than engineering. So the suspension has to be tuned to an estimated mid-point of the various sidewall stiffness on the various compounds. If the softness of the Ultrasofts are too far out of the range, we could see excessive rear tire wear as the backs ends of the cars lose that balance between the front and rear tires and the load fails to transfer, causing an imbalance in dynamics and the rear to float. Hence excessive tire wear.

Who knows what will happen. The third practice has not happened yet, so I am working with what info I have through P2. But perhaps I’ve omitted the single factor which could have the biggest impact, the weather. The forecast for qualifying is for warm temps up to 75 degrees (24 celsius). The race is scheduled to start at 2:00 PM local time (8:00 AM East Coast US) On Sunday. Accu-Weather is predicting 51% chance of thunder showers at 1:00 PM in Monaco.

I’m sticking with my default prediction. Haas will have one car in points. Having both cars cross the finish line will be an important feat. The rain could be a mess, making for an exciting race. And the rain favors Grosjean. He seems to do well when tire treatment comes into play. This is where racecraft, good driving and a bit of luck at turn 1 could play to the favor of the Haas Team.

I’d be remiss if I did not mention the pride which will be felt by Americans around the world as the Haas F1 cars line up on the starting grid of the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix. The excitement for the Haas F1 Team is growing across the US. And when a car wearing the American flag competes, it also competes for 300 Million other Americans. This is Memorial Day weekend in the United States. On Monday May 30th we will not only be enjoying an extended weekend holiday but remembering the fallen Americans from all wars. The flag on the Haas car races for them, and 300 Million Americans are along for the ride!

Qualifying is tomorrow… BRING IT ON!!! Go Haas F1 Team!!!