Haas F1 boss Guenther Steiner 'not focusing on other stuff' ahead of 2023 season
Haas F1 boss Guenther Steiner claims his team's sole focus is to make their cars quicker ahead of the 2023 season. The American team is not focused on changing its overall strategy just yet but wants to ensure a faster car for the new season.
Steiner and Co. decided to ditch Mick Schumacher in favor of his compatriot Nico Hulkenberg for the new season as the younger German was unable to deliver the results the team desired.
Mick, the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, was outperformed by his older and much-experienced teammate Kevin Magnussen, who returned to the sport at the start of the 2022 season.
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While the American team did manage to perform better than it did in 2021, Steiner's main focus for the upcoming season is to build a quicker car - rather than change the team's overall approach.
The Haas boss told Autosport:
“We want to invest the money in the car. At the moment, whatever we have got, we invest in the car. There is nothing that you want to do outside at the moment. The system we have got, we just want to stabilise it and just make sure that we use everything to make the car go quick, nothing else."
Guenther Steiner reveals Haas' goals for 2023 F1 season
Haas team boss Guenther Steiner hopes his team can regularly fight for points in 2023 and maybe even get on the podium one day. The American outfit had its most successful season since 2018, finishing eighth in the constructors' standings.
After two dismal years (2020 and 2021), Steiner's team made a partial comeback in 2022. Haas started the season with a bang, with Kevin Magnussen finishing P5 in the season opener in Bahrain. Since then, however, the team lost form and failed to score points regularly. Haas was generally unable to keep up with other teams in terms of development, showcasing their biggest weaknesses in the sport.
Magnussen, however, shocked the world by taking his and his team's first F1 pole position at the 2022 Brazilian GP. In a similar spirit, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner claims the team plans on going even further in 2023.
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As reported by Ravenna Today, Steiner said:
"We had two difficult years with the pandemic, but we got back on our feet. The season we just finished went well, but it could have been better. We can consider it a year of growth. This year Kevin [Magnussen] gave us a Pole Position. In 2023, we want to grow even more, make another leap in quality in the standings, always fight for points and one day get on the podium. Big goals are needed to achieve them and grow."
It remains to be seen how successful the Magnussen-Hulkenberg combination will be in 2023 and if the team can build on the decent year they had in 2022.