Gene Haas reckons getting on top of Pirelli’s tyres is the biggest challenge facing his squad, ahead of its third season in Formula 1.
Since arriving in Formula 1 at the start of 2016, Haas has been one of the sport’s least consistent teams, with its performance often fluctuating at various Grands Prix.
Understanding Pirelli’s notoriously sensitive tyres – with narrow operating windows and multiple compounds – has proved a hindrance to Haas, and the American owner is keen to get a handle on it this year.
“We want to solve these technical issues that are holding us back,” said Haas, whose team finished eighth in the standings across the past two seasons.
“Tyres are the toughest issue we have because you have to keep the tyres in a certain temperature range, but how you keep the tyres in that temperature range is how you handle your downforce and your drag and how you handle sliding the tyres.
“The tyres are very sensitive to downforce, overheating and sliding, but in order to get the tyres right you have to have the right chassis and the right aero.
“Without all of that working right, the cars become very difficult for the drivers and you can’t expect them to make up for a car that just doesn’t have the capability of holding the track.”
Haas also believes it must provide superior machinery to drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, as he heaped praise on the pair.
“I’ve said it before – I thought our drivers were better than our cars in 2017,” said Haas.
“Grosjean is a very, very fast driver. His driving style is very different from Magnussen’s style. Grosjean is more hard-charging, braking and going through the turns.
“Magnussen is a little smoother going through those turns. They just have different driving styles, but they are both very aggressive and both want to win, and you have to have that kind of killer mentality to score points.
“It’s pretty amazing how the two cars are almost always close to each other in qualifying and practice, so you know the drivers are extremely capable. If we give them fast cars, they’ll move right up the ladder.”
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