Haas F1 team found another difficult year in the Formula 1 World Championship 2020. This year was the lowest score since joining F1 in 2016 and we were lucky Williams Racing had still not resolved their problems as of 2019, otherwise they could have been at the bottom of the list.
In the middle of the year it was announced that Haas’ would end its partnership with Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean after four years with the duo. With no other team coming up for the drivers, it looks like 2020 will be the last in F1.
The heights …
Haas’ highest point of the year will be her tire strategy on the Hungarian Grand Prix. It was raining HungaroringLeaving the track in a wet condition with additional races forecast during the race. Magnussen was on wet tires, Grosjean on intermediate products. During the formation lap, both drivers were in the pits for slicks.
This turned out to be a good strategy as the track was drying up quickly and had to start most of the grid early to bring Magnussen and Grosjean to second and third respectively at one point in the race. Unfortunately, their efforts didn’t stop and Magnussen crossed the line in ninth and Grosjean in fifteenth. Their misfortune continued when both drivers were given a ten-second time penalty for prematurely stopping for breaking the rules for radio messaging in formation laps. This reduced Magnussen to tenth and Grosjean to sixteenth.
Despite the end results, the strategy showed that Haas wasn’t messing around. They also walked away from the race with their first point of the year.
The Grand Prix of the Eifel also showed Haas’ strategies when they decided not to lead Grosjean a second time during a safety car. This put Grosjean in seventh and eventually ninth, a big improvement over his starting position in sixteenth. It would be the Frenchman’s only end to points in a difficult season.
… And the lows
We all knew Grosjeans was last in F1 this year, but we never knew what his last race would be like. The Bahrain Grand Prix shouldn’t be his last, but unforeseen events made it so. Grosjean was involved in a crash that shook the entire F1 community.
On the first lap, Grosjean collided with the barrier after turn 3. The impact split his car in two and went up in flames. It took a little less than five minutes for the broadcasters to confirm that Grosjean was fine and that they could walk away from the accident with minor injuries.
Because of this crash, Grosjean was unable to be medically deregistered Sakhir and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which means he didn’t get the parting he deserved.
Image Credit: LAT Photo
Qualifying battle
There was a fine line in the head-to-head qualifying battle, but Magnussen reigned eight to seven against Grosjean. Throughout the year, the duo failed to reach the third quarter in any of the qualifying tournaments. The team’s highest starting point was on Grand Prix for the 70th anniversary where Grosjean began fourteenth.
Magnussen was adjusted in the last two laps Pietro Fittapaldiwho stood up for the injured Grosjean. The Dane has overtaken him on both occasions.
Race Battle
This was another tough competition, but this time Grosjean prevailed, scoring seven times more points than his teammate compared to Magnussen’s six. Both drivers withdrew on Austrian and Turkish Grand Prix. The team collected a total of three points, one at the Hungarian Grand Prix and two for ninth place at the Eifel Grand Prix.
Fittapaldi couldn’t beat Magnussen and finished seventeenth and nineteenth in both of his races.
Season results
| Round | Grosjean qualification |
Grosjean run |
Magnussen qualification |
Magnussen run |
| Austria | fifteen | LAW | 16 | LAW |
| Styrian | 20th | 13th | fifteen | 12th |
| Hungary | 18th | 16 | 16 | 10 |
| Great Britain | 19th | 16 | 16 | LAW |
| 70th anniversary | 14th | 16 | 17th | LAW |
| Spain | 17th | 19th | 16 | fifteen |
| Belgium | 17th | fifteen | 20th | 17th |
| Italy | 16 | 12th | fifteen | LAW |
| Tuscan | fifteen | 12th | 20th | LAW |
| Russia | 16 | 17th | 18th | 12th |
| Germany | 16 | 9 | fifteen | 13th |
| Portugal | 18th | 17th | 19th | 16 |
| Emilia Romagna | 16 | 14th | 17th | LAW |
| Turkey | 19th | LAW | 16 | LAW |
| Bahrain | 19th | LAW | 18th | 17th |
| Sakhir | – – | – – | 16 | fifteen |
| Abu Dhabi | – – | – – | 17th | 18th |
What to expect in 2021
Haas has announced a change to the driver line-up for the first time in four years for 2021. Mick Schumacher was promoted to F1 after becoming a Master in the Feeder Series FIA Formula 2. Schumacher is part of the Ferrari driver academy and will certainly land on the Italian side if he does a good job. Nikita Mazepin was also promoted from Formula 2. Mapezin has come under fire for his antics on and off the belt, but Haas still shows his confidence in the driver.
After finishing second, ninth in a row in the constructors’ championship, we hope that the team can do more, especially with young blood on their side.
Image Credit: LAT Photo
