Nico Hulkenberg is hoping that an upgrade package due for Silverstone will help propel Haas F1 team back into points contention. In Spain, the German finished 11th for the fifth time in the last seven races having chased Esteban Ocon to the flag.
On his in-lap, he told the team that the performance was “just not enough” before adding that it had been a positive race and that “with the Silverstone stuff coming, we should be OK.”
“We’ll see,” he said when asked by this writer about the upcoming changes to the VF-24.
“Updates, you always want to verify them and feel them in reality. But I’m hopeful in a way that they will obviously bring something to the car.
“Silverstone is massively high speed, we know that, and that package is aimed more at high-speed, or those improvements. So hopefully, they can give us an edge.”
He downplayed any lingering frustration about his recent run of 11th places.
“To be honest, I don’t even remember them,” he said. “They get erased from my mind. So just wipe your mouth and go again in a few days.
“I need that new point system already. Next year when it comes I’m still going to invoice for this year!”
Hulkenberg: Spain positive weekend overall for Haas
Although he just missed the points once more in Barcelona Hulkenberg insisted that it had been a good weekend for Haas.
“Positive race generally,” he said. “Obviously, not quite enough. But I felt the pace was pretty strong, especially the final stint I did, how I was catching Esteban.
“When I really pushed to put him under pressure, I think the pace was very, very respectable and good at that moment.
“I tried to attack him, but then my tyres started to give up on me, so couldn’t do it. But like I said, all in all, I think I feel we maximised the race.
“Had a good start, a good lap one. And, yeah, I feel like this was the maximum today.
“Obviously Esteban was my reference, and I was definitely faster than him and catching him. But obviously he has 10 seconds to Pierre [Gasly], but there’s only fast cars ahead after.
“Definitely positive, probably better than what I, or we, expected. So, in a way, that’s encouraging.”
Regarding the 5-second pit speeding penalty he picked up, he said:
“I locked up quite badly, more than I expected. I had the brake balance rearwards, but I lost the front tyres quite badly on the way in.”
Hulkenberg is hoping for a competitive weekend in Austria, where he enjoyed a rare 2023 high by qualifying fourth and finishing sixth in the sprint.
“It was due to the mixed conditions, wasn’t it?” he said. “Especially the sprint, where we scored points.
“Austria, I guess, can always be a mixed bag in terms of weather, and I hope to be honest for similar conditions. It makes it more interesting, mixes things up, and, I guess, more opportunity for us.”
