A weekend to forget for HAAS in Monaco
The Monaco Grand Prix turned into a nightmare for the Haas F1 Team, with both cars out of the race before the first lap was even completed. Starting from the back of the grid, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen faced an uphill battle from the get-go.
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Opening Lap Chaos
The drama unfolded on the run along Beau Rivage on the opening lap. Hulkenberg, starting on medium tyres, and Magnussen, on hard tyres, both found themselves caught up in a chaotic incident. Magnussen made contact with Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez, while Hulkenberg was also ensnared in the collision. The damage sustained by both Haas cars was too severe to continue, resulting in a double retirement for the team.
Driver Reactions
“I’m disappointed and a bit gutted to be honest to be out after 500 meters. It’s obviously far from ideal having both cars out, and I got taken out by an incident which I wasn’t directly involved in. Obviously, it’s quite narrow here going up to Turn 3. It’s a big shame, things were getting too tight there, it was somewhat a racing incident – it maybe looked a bit optimistic from Kevin – but Checo could’ve also seen him and left room, so the outcome is obviously unfortunate.”
Nico Hulkenberg expressed his frustration after the race
“I was with my front alongside Perez’s rear from the exit of Turn 1, in the run up to Turn 3. He goes towards the wall, the wall comes back a little bit towards the track, and I had nowhere to go. I don’t know if he didn’t see me, but I can’t just disappear out of the blue, so I made contact with the wall and him at the same time, and we crashed. It’s frustrating and a crash like this has a big cost for the team in terms of spare parts and making new parts, as well as a lot of work for the team, it’s just never good.”
Kevin Magnussen detailed his perspective on the incident
Team Principal’s Perspective
“Starting from P19 and P20, we had an alternative strategy plan to try to get something out of it, but unfortunately our race ended on lap one. It’s been a Sunday to forget and then we just have to learn from this weekend and move on and get a good result in Canada.”
Team Principal Ayao Komatsu summed up the team’s disappointment
Disqualification Drama in Qualifying
Haas’s troubles began even before the race started. The team initially qualified 12th and 15th, but the stewards found the rear wing elements on both cars non-compliant. The ruling was clear: “The Technical Delegate discovered on examination that the uppermost rear wing element adjustable positions exceeded the maximum allowed under Article 3.10.10.h of the Technical Regulations of 85mm.”
Despite Haas explaining that “an inadvertent error” in setting the wing flap gap led to the issue, and insisting that “no performance advantage was gained by their non-compliance,” both cars were disqualified from the qualifying classification. This forced Hulkenberg and Magnussen to start from the back of the grid, setting the stage for a disastrous race day.
The Haas Monaco weekend was one to forget, marked by early race incidents and disqualification woes. The team will be looking to bounce back with a stronger performance in Canada.
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Featured Image courtesy of Haas F1 Team / Photo by Mark Sutton / LAT Images