Winter testing – Difficult first day for Haas

After completely putting aside the development of his car 2021, last year, for the benefit of its VF-22, Haas expects to have a much better season and even be back in the mid-pack battles. However, the season did not start ideally for Barcelona, ​​with a difficult first day of winter tests. Driving in the morning, Nikita mazepin was in fact the victim of a leak which only allowed him to drive 20 laps. His German teammate Mick Schumacher was hardly more successful in the afternoon with only 23 loops, due to a problem with its flat bottom. 

“There is nothing to be worried about, tempered Mick Schumacher in front of the Haas garage at the end of the day. Admittedly, the smile is not as big as it could have been. I only did 23 laps, I wish I could have done three times more. These are things that happen, we'll have to make up for it on Thursday and do the laps we couldn't do today (Wednesday)." For the young German driver, Haas will not be the only one to experience this type of problem. “The flat bottom took a big hit, I think that’s the case for all the teams, so we just had to try to repair it, he explained. It seems like it's a problem for all teams, so I imagine the floor will be one of the areas we have to focus on.

Weight, main difference between 2021 and 2022

Despite his twenty-three short laps, the German was able to discover the first sensations offered by these new cars. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s night and day honestly. We're still going in circles at high speed, that hasn't changed. We simply need to adapt and change our approach. The main difference is clearly the weight. And that plays a role in every corner, especially the slow ones. But at the end of the day, I loved driving that car.”

Mick Schumacher only covered 23 laps on Wednesday. © Florent Gooden / DPPI

As for the objective of a return to the middle of the pack, Mick Schumacher is delighted that his boss has set the bar so high. “I’m glad he said he expected us to (the pilots) that we fights for points. This is what we would obviously want. Now we have to wait and see if it’s playable or not.” From now on, it would be a question of chaining the rounds to be able to accumulate data. On Wednesday, Haas only made 43. Against 153 for Ferrari and for 147 Red Bull... 

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