Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale
Saturday 2 April 2022 16:00
Haas team principal Guenther Steiner wants to take a “calm” approach to upgrades for the VF-22 after claiming they are “over-rated”.
The American team has made a strong start to the season with two points finishes for Kevin Magnussen, including fifth at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
With F1’s new regulations prompting a developmental race across the season, Haas will need to update its car along with its competition and asked if this was possible, Steiner insisted: “We will bring upgrades as well.
“I always feel upgrades are over…people like to bring upgrades but if you bring upgrades, [they may be worth only] one, two, three points.
“And if you bring upgraded parts, what does it actually do? That’s important for me.
“If you ask an aerodynamicist at every grand prix they will bring a million dollars worth of upgrades for one point, so that needs to be managed under the budget cap more than anything else.
“With upgrades, I’m not saying nobody brings bad ones but they’re a little bit over-rated.”
Steiner – Calm approach not down to finances
Haas endured a turbulent pre-season that saw the team cut ties with title sponsor Uralkali in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Steiner was adamant the team was financially stable when dropping Uralkali and has explained his approach to upgrades won’t be dictated by money.
“I want to stay calm this year, intentionally, not because we haven’t got money,” he explained.
“I want to get our package together, saying this brings us a certain amount of points, if we can measure it properly to make progress, to make sure we don’t change the balance of the car, and then introduce it.
“Not saying we need upgrades left, right and centre. No, let’s focus on the car, understand it and get the best out of it.
“We learned in ’19 when we brought upgrades, and we ended up at the last race with the package of the first race. That’s not upgrades.
“Normally, I get it wrong once, the second time I try not to do the mistake.”
