On the wings of enthusiasm following their double points finish in Melbourne, Haas arrives at Suzuka with the intention of again capitalising on any opportunities. The change in the team’s approach compared to recent years is evident. The VF-24 is highly competitive in race trim, while in qualifying, it is less of a threat. Japan’s Suzuka circuit, however, presents characteristics that will highlight the single-seaters weak points, which have already emerged in the first three rounds of 2024.
KOMATSU: “HIGH-SPEED CORNERING IS THE WEAK POINT OF THE VF-24”
The Haas team principal, Ayao Komatsu, underlined how, in the first races, the difference in performance between qualifying and the race was evident:
“After having run three races on very different circuits, I am really happy to have collected points on two out of three occasions, with one point in Jeddah and three in Melbourne.
“We showed that our race pace is better than in qualifying, especially in Melbourne, so this is clearly a strong point. At the same time, qualifying in Australia showed the weaknesses of the VF-24, and unfortunately, it will be a bit similar to Suzuka, as it has sector 1 with high-speed corners.”
It is specifically these high-speed corners that will represent the biggest challenge for Haas in the Japanese GP:
“In the high-speed corners in Bahrain, in Jeddah in sector 1 and in Melbourne, we saw that our car wasn’t quite right, so sector 1 in Suzuka will be a big challenge,” highlighted Komatsu.
“It will be important how we manage the lack of high speed, grip and balance needed to give our all in Suzuka qualifying, as it is not a circuit where overtaking is easy.
“It will be a challenge for us, but we have a couple of ideas, so we will try to do some experiments on Friday to improve this aspect. In terms of race pace, like in Melbourne, I think it will be stronger than our qualifying pace, so thinking about Sunday we will have to evaluate how to capitalize on that, having a better strategy.”
HULKENBERG: “IMPORTANT TO DRAW LESSONS FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON”
Kevin Magnussen expects a more difficult weekend than the previous ones, but the Dane is confident in the race pace to still obtain a good result:
“On paper, Suzuka doesn’t seem to be a suitable track for us, but I think we still have a better base on the car compared to last year. Hopefully, even if we don’t qualify well, we will still be able to have a good race.”
The high-speed corners will also bring attention to tyre degradation, another key aspect which is highlighted by Nico Hulkenberg:
“Maybe it’s the first time this year that we’ve gone to a high-degradation circuit. It’s a challenging circuit, so it will be important for us to learn lessons for the rest of the year. This season, there are certainly positive signs, and you feel better inside the car than six months ago, but we are still at the beginning .”
