KANNAPOLIS, NC (WBTV) – Bad weather caused a delayed start, and when it was over it was a very disappointing day for the Kannapolis-based Haas F1 Team.
Haas F1 Team suffered a double retirement at the Monaco Grand Prix, held on Sunday at the Circuit de Monaco.
“It was a disappointing day today,” said Team Principal Guenther Steiner. “Kevin’s car was really fast, we were just waiting for our opportunity to pass Bottas at the pit stop, either under or over cutting to get by him and chase the field. He could easily follow him. He then had an issue with a water leak on his ERS system. With Mick we obviously saw what happened. It’s not very satisfactory having a big crash again. We need to see how we move forward from here.”
After a delay of 65 minutes due to torrent rain in the Principality the formation lap got underway behind the Safety Car. Both Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher retained their starting positions of 13th and 15th respectively on Pirelli Cinturato Blue wet tires, with Race Control opting for a rolling start.
Magnussen climbed a few positions to emerge in contention for the top 10 but unfortunately the Dane was forced to retire after 21 laps due to a power unit issue.
“We had power unit issue of some sort, so we had to retire the car – there was nothing we could do about that sadly,” Magnusses said. “I really thought our pace in the race was good considering we were on a full wet on a dry line, I had been able to keep Gasly behind until our issue and I was closing on Bottas. It would have been really exciting around the pit stops to see what could have happened. It’s unfortunate with no points today even though I think we had the car to do it, we knew we could fight.”
Schumacher pitted after four laps for green intermediate tires, relinquishing track position, and suffered a further incident after contact left him with a damaged front wing. Schumacher pitted for a new front wing on lap 18 and switched to Pirelli P Zero White hard tires, becoming the first driver onto slick tires. Schumacher strived to make up ground but an accident through Piscine corner on lap 27 ended his race heavily in the barriers – the German successfully extracting himself from his severely damaged VF-22.
“I’m feeling alright, it’s very annoying,” Schumacher said. “In terms of pace, we were definitely there and it’s just a matter of keeping it on track – unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that. The pace felt strong and it felt like we were able to attack and push. Unfortunately, I went a bit too wide, probably about 10 centimeters at the end, and that’s enough to lose all the grip that you thought you had and the result is what happened.”
Haas F1 Team will return at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – hosted at the Baku City Circuit, June 10-12. Round 8 of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit. Practice – Friday June 10. Qualifying – Saturday June 11. Race – Sunday June 12.
Haas F1 Team contributed to this story.
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