"Anyone who does so little can’t expect much": German driver criticizes Guenther Steiner-led Haas F1 team
Haas F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg believes his team deserved their position at the 2023 F1 Italian GP as they did "little" in preparation for the race.
Hulkenberg finished the race in P17 alongside teammate Kevin Magnussen, who finished in P18. The German made a great start, as he was in the top 10 in the first couple of laps. However, he fell behind in the next few laps and never really looked competitive.
Per Formu1a.uno, Nico Hulkenberg said about the performance:
“We are terribly bad compared to the competition. We are the only team that didn’t bring anything with us to Monza. Anyone who does so little can’t expect much. We’re not worthy of points here, and we are from it… We have to accept that now. In 14 days, we’ll continue on a track that maybe suits us a little better… I don’t expect any huge bright patches.”
Meanwhile, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said:
“There’s not a lot to say except the car is just not fast enough. You always try to do your best, but the car has no performance and that’s where you end up when you cannot compete.”
Haas F1 driver previews the Singapore GP
Nico Hulkenberg further stated that his team was aware of their low downforce deficiencies heading into the Monza race, but they had "no performance" or "balance" during the event.
Per F1.com, Hulkenberg said:
“The start was pretty much the only positive to be honest, the only bit of fun, after that very hard work. We had no performance, no balance, and not good tire management or life, so it was pretty hard work out there. Frankly, we were far from points-worthy this weekend.
"I think in Zandvoort we had made some progress, but it was somehow hidden by race circumstances, but I feel the pace was heading in the right direction. Zandvoort is high-downforce, Singapore is high-downforce, so I feel and hope that things will get back to normal and we can at least be competitive in the midfield.”
This has pretty much been the story for Haas all season, as they have not looked competitive in the races compared to qualifying. They really need to introduce some upgrades in the upcoming races to stay competitive.