The home race weekend kicked off perfectly for the American team Haas, which arrived in Austin with a special livery featuring their new partner Toyota Gazoo Racing. In the Sprint qualifying, both Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen reached SQ3, starting from the third and fourth rows in tonight’s race, giving them a great opportunity to score valuable points. A strong debut for the VF-24, which is equipped with a significant aerodynamic package of updates, currently available only on Nico Hulkenberg’s car.
Hulkenberg: “A really inconsistent qualifying”
Nico Hulkenberg’s performance in the Sprint qualifying improved as the sessions progressed. After a troubled start with the fourteenth fastest time in SQ1, the German made it into the top 10 in SQ2 and then, switching to Soft tires in SQ3, achieved his best performance of the day, securing a spot in the third row.
Nico Hulkenberg admitted he was fortunate to avoid an early elimination: “It was a very complicated qualifying because it was really inconsistent. In SQ1, I didn’t feel very good in the car, and I think we were lucky to make it through—I didn’t expect it. We were fortunate, and it went better in SQ2, even better in SQ3 with the soft tires. We still need to examine the update because it seems difficult to drive with the wind and everything else, but now we have a lot more data to analyze.”
Magnussen: “I’m not too surprised”
Kevin Magnussen had a more consistent performance, staying in the top 10 throughout the session. The Dane felt comfortable right from the start with his Haas and viewed Nico Hulkenberg’s better performance in SQ3 with the updated car positively.
Kevin Magnussen expressed he was not surprised by Haas’s success: “I think it went well all day, so I’m not too surprised that we’re up there. I’m really happy that we got both cars into SQ3, with Nico stepping up when he needed to in the last lap. P6 and P8 for the Sprint are a positive start for the weekend. Nico is racing with the update, so it’s particularly nice to see him up there because we want to see that car go faster, and I’ll receive the update after the Sprint. It’s great to get data and split the cars; it’s definitely the right decision.” – the Haas driver explained.
Komatsu: “Incredible result, a lottery win with Hulk”
Team principal Ayao Komatsu was obviously thrilled with the result. The Japanese manager revealed that Nico Hulkenberg’s session was even more eventful than the German driver described, with a technical issue arising in SQ3.
Ayao Komatsu said: “It was an incredible result. With the medium tires, Kevin was at the top and going very well, while Nico was actually making up ground and wasn’t as happy with the car as Kevin. Towards the end of SQ2, Nico had a major water leak issue, so it was really a lottery to get him out for SQ3, but everyone did an incredible job. When we left the garage, there was only a 10-second margin. With used soft tires, he had another great lap to secure sixth position, while Kevin was slightly disappointed to be eighth on new tires. If you’re disappointed with an eighth-fastest time, that’s a good sign. I think the fact is that we have more potential, so it was a really good day.” – the Haaas team principal concluded.
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