#haasf1 – Haas F1 Fan Journal

2019 Spanish Grand Prix

The struggle for race performance has found the Rich Energy Haas F1 Team with only 8 points in the 2019 Formula 1 constructors championship. Kevin Magnussen has been the teams sole points winner while their star, Romain Grosjean, has languished with three retirements and an 11 point finish in China. The team has been strong in qualifying but find themselves down a position or two after the first few laps. The team has failed to maintain race pace.

The Spanish Grand Prix begins the European leg of the F1 season. And with the new continent comes new upgrades to the cars.

From the beginning of the weekend both cars were strong. Haas brought a slew of new upgrades, and the results on track were impressive. They were high on the leader boards throughout the practice sessions, within the top 10, and they locked out the fourth row of qualifying. Romain Grosjean will start the Spanish Grand Prix in 7th position while his teammate Kevin Magnussen will line up next to him in 8th. The two Haas drivers were separated by just .011 seconds in their final qualifying session. The cars are fast and the drivers continue to prove evenly matched.

By lap 17 of 66, the two Haas Cars maintained 7th and 8th position. Grosjean lead his teammate. The Haas duo were about 10 seconds behind Gasley’s Red Bull, who lagged Vettel’s failing Ferrari by 3 seconds.

After the cycle of pits, and a lap 52 safety car Kevin Magnussen was able to defend his starting position and finish in 7th place. Romain Grosjean was not able to maintain position throughout the pit cycles, but still finished 10th. This is Grosjean’s first point for the 2019 season.

The Haas F1 Team entered the Spanish Grand Prix with just 8 points, and have nearly doubled their total to 15. More importantly, they have leaf frogged both Alfa Romeo and Renault to move from 8th to 6th in the constructors world championship.

Next we are off to Monaco. It is difficult to predict how the Haas cars will perform, so we are keeping our expectations low, but our hopes hi!!!

Bon jour!

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!!!

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 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!

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix – Post Race Review

The 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix was chock full of story lines. But there are no glamorous highlight for the Haas F1 Team.

The Haas cars of Roman Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen started the race 16th and 17th respectively. Grosjean finished 12th and Magnussen 13. Both Haas cars finished ahead of all Renault’s’, Saber’s and Toro Rosso’s. It proves that the Haas F1 Team is good, but they still didn’t get any points.

But the Haas F1 Team aside, it was a great race. There are many story lines worthy their own attention. Here is my list of Story lines from the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Max Conquers – Max Verstappin passed Lewis Hamilton on lap 6 to not only take the lead of the race but the win.
Vettels Climb – Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel started the race from the back of the pack and ended up finishing the race 4th.
Lewis’s Lead Lengthened – Lewis Hamilton extended his championship lead, but by not as big as he might think.
Redbull Rebounds – “Alonso Smiles” – Redbull taking first and third tells Alonso that his 2018 car should be fast.
Williams Wakes Up! – After a string of poor results Williams responds with both cars in the points.
Alonso tells Magnussen to #SuckMyBallsHoney – after a lap 33 pass by Alonso on Magnussen.

Bring On Suzuka!

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 Italian Grand Prix – Race Review

Hopes for the Haas F1 Team were over on Saturday after just 2 minutes into the first qualifying session. The rainy conditions during the first two minutes of qualifying were greater than the Blue Pirelli full wet tires could accommodate, and Romain Grosjean hydroplaned off of a straight part of empty track. The car simply lifted and Romain was a a passenger, like a kid at the beach sliding along on his skim board among the receding waves. When the rains finally did recede at The Autodromo Nazionale Monza, and qualifying resumed, Grosjean did not participate. The best Kevin Magnussen could manage in his qualifying session was P16. But remarkable, because so many grid place penalties were assigned Magnussen started 9th. The lack of penalties to the Haas Team is an easily overlooked aspect amidst so many teams being so heavily penalized.

It was lap 47 of 53 that Kevin Magnussen lost his 10th place points position when Max Verstappen passed him. KMags finished in that all too familiar 11th place for the Haas F1 Team. He was in the points for most of the race, but in an post race interview admitted that he finished where they belonged. The Mercedes powered cars of the Williams and Force India and of course AMG Mercedes F1 cars were too much for the power of Scuderia Ferrari and the Haas F1 team.

But without a doubt, the Ferrari Tifosi at the Italian Grand Prix are the greatest podium in all of motor sports. As Lewis Hamilton was soundly boo’d for his first place podium, Lewis himself recognized the unique passion of Ferrari fans in Italy. There is no other manufacturer, team or fans like Ferrari. It was an incredible spectate as thousands of fans filled every camera angle for as far as you could see.

For Haas F1… it’s on to Singapore in two weeks. We enter the fly-away portion of the series where the teams now rely on their air cargo for everything. The Singapore is a night race and a beautiful spectacle to watch. The lights among a night background provide an almost video game like appearance. The track is unforgiving as it has very limited run off areas, and the guard rails will win against every impact.

For Haas F1, the Italian Grand Prix allows them to bond with their Ferrari partners, and hopefully sell some CNC machines… keep feeding the goose that lays those F1 golden eggs, and less eggs by the team! 0 points!

Thick and thin, they’re our team, it’s why we’re fans! Go Haas F1!

2017 Hungarian Grand Prix – Race Review

The 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix is in the books for the Haas F1 Team…. and that is a good place for it. After a few days of scheduled testing this week the team will all go home and take their FIA mandated vacations.

Performance for all three practice sessions for the Grand Prix weekend were uninspiring. Romain Grosjean achieved the best practice result and placed 15th in the third practice. Grosjean also qualified 15th for the race while Kevin Magnussen qualified 16th.

It was a good race. Daniel Riccardo was side swiped buy his team mate Max Verstappen on the very first lap. A radiator on Riccardo’s car was damaged and coolant was expressed on the car and track; his Redbull was broken, by another Redbull. Riccardo was pissed and beside himself to find restraint in the interview which followed immediately after returning to the paddock. It was the first “first lap” retirement of his career according to the NBC broadcast.

On lap 21 Magnussen was running 13th and Grosjean 16th when Haas race control informed Grosjean that he had “low tire pressure on the left front”.. his response… “wonderful”. Grosjean pits and all seems right with the broadcast. Just as Leigh Diffy mentions that it “has not been a good weekend for Haas”, Roman Grosjean was instructed to “stop the car”…

…and the Haas VR17 drops a big turd on the track. It really stunk up the place…

It was not a pretty sight. They crossed a wheel nut on one of the new wheels, and released the car…. The crew member on the right rear of the car has his arms crosses in the universal marshaling language of STOP, as the car drove away! Hindsight being what it is, and as fans, we’re better off not getting into the shoulda, coulda, woulda’s of what happened…. Shit happens! Lap 21 and the number 8 car of Grosjean is out while the number 20 car of Kevin Magnussen was running in 13th .

While the Haas team held a debrief of the debacle, the Ferrari’s of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen lead the race 1 -2 respectively. They finish the race in the same order. And with that win Vettel (202 points) established a 24 point gap between himself and Lewis Hamilton (188 points) of Mercedes, for the drivers construction.

Lewis Hamilton finished 4th. On lap 47 The Mercedes Team issued orders for Valtteri Bottas to relinquish his position. Hamilton was running strong and the team he was running fast enough to fight ahead with the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen. I’ll spare the details, but Lewis could not catch Kimi… Lewis Hamilton relinquished 3 championship points when he filed in behind Bottas on the last turn of the last lap and handed the third podium position back to Valtteri Bottas. It happened at the very last moment before crossing the finish line.

But from every race, we look for a take away. And for the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix we found one, and we have Kevin Magnussen to thank for it. KMags delivered an 11th place finish., though the official race results placed Magnussen at 13th place. Magnussen received 2 points against his F1 Superlicense and a 5 second penalty for a race incident involving German driver Nico Hulkenberg. Those 5 seconds cost him two positions on the result from 11th to 13th.

On lap 61 Magnussen forced Hulkenberg wide as the German tried to execute a pass on the outside. Magnussen defended and faded to the right as the Renault of Hulkenberg tried to pass Magnussen on a bending left sweeping turn. Magnussen made what can be classified as a blocking move, and the yellow Renault was eating dust… I digress…

The 5 second penalty cost the team 2 meaningless positions on the final result. Magnussen received a 2 point penalty on his license. But Nico Hulkenberg was not happy. Nico Hulkenberg called Magnussen “the most unsporting driver”… Haas F1 Team boss Gunther Steiner came to his drivers defense calling Hulkenberg “a bully”. But Magnussen’s response to Hulkenberg was cataclysmic in its impact… and an all timer!

Kevin Magnussen told Nico Hulkenberg to “suck my balls honey”…

Aside from delivering social media gold to the F1 world… KMags set a no prisoners mentality. Nothing brings a team together better than a common enemy… a chip they can carry around over their vacation break.

From a racing perspective, the race was meaningless. The Haas Team is in 7th place for the constructors championship with 29 points. Renault is behind them in 8th with 26 points. Last year the team finished the season with 29 points, so They’ve scored level with last years totals, and we still have the entire second half of the season ahead of us.

But here we are in the second year for the American team. They are leading Renault. Renault built it’s first purpose built race car in 1907, The Racing Roadster. That car went on to win the first ever race called a “Grand Prix”.

So the Haas F1 Team will enter their sophomore summer break amidst a bit of controversy. Kevin Magnussen is telling the competition to “suckmyballshoney” and the Haas fans love it. The @HaasF1Fans twitter feed was alive with some “Vikings” ready to jump in on the fight. That is a clan I will not mess with, and that is the message that The Haas F1 Team is sending…

So enjoy your break from F1 everyone. Look for HaasF1Fans on Facebook and twitter.

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.