Hülkenberg’s eventful Imola race highlights Haas’ potential for the future and challenges the American team must overcome.
Nico Hülkenberg began Sunday’s race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in a strong 10th position for HAAS. His start saw him surge past both Racing Bulls ahead of him, ending the first lap in 8th place.
His initial pace showed promise, but the race unfolded with a series of strategic challenges for the driver. An early pit stop halted Hülkenberg’s strategy. The team decided to pit earlier than planned, resulting in a loss of track position to Tsunoda.
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After re-joining the race in 15th, Hülkenberg had to contend with a long second stint. Racing Bulls’ undercut played a crucial role in this scenario, leaving Hülkenberg to fight back.
He finished P11 with teammate Kevin Magnussen P12.
Hear From The Man Himself
The Haas driver expressed confidence in his car’s performance on the straights, believing he could have held off Tsunoda if not for the pit stop timing. He said, “We were kind of forced to stop early, we lost one track position to Yuki, but we stopped way earlier than what we would have liked to, and that made the final stint quite long and tricky at the end.”
The weekend demonstrated Haas’ straight-line speed, yet the car lacked the pace to reclaim positions. Hülkenberg discussed whether a different strategy might have had better results, but he acknowledged the uncertainty.
“It’s always difficult to say on the hard, like this I had a good start, immediately got both Racing Bulls.
“With the hard maybe I would have had a worse start, and if I had lost the position […] well, you never know, we’ll have to review it.”
Despite his strong start, the early stop and subsequent undercut allowed Tsunoda to maintain a consistent 4 to 5 second lead. Traffic from slower cars such as Guanyu and Sargeant added to Hülkenberg’s challenges.
The pace difference with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll’s fresher tires further complicated his race.
Hülkenberg understood the inevitability of losing positions to faster cars. He acknowledged the challenge of holding off Perez and the eventual overtake by Stroll. “Obviously we knew the Red Bull coming through yesterday, there was no holding the Red Bull behind pace-wise, and Lance was also rapid, good pace at the end.”
Looking To The Future
With a review of their strategy, Hülkenberg hopes the team can fight for points in the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix. “Yeah, a lot of blue flags, and it was quite an interrupted second stint,” he reflected, looking forward to a better performance next weekend.
After Hülkenberg’s eventful Imola race, what HAAS can do to improve remains clear. With his seat available next year, who will the team choose to propel them further?
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