Haas to run updated-spec cars in Belgium
Haas will run the latest-spec version of its VF-19 Formula 1 car for both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix following a series of trials in recent races.
Haas currently sits second-from-bottom in the constructors' championship after a difficult start to the year that has seen it struggle for race pace against its midfield rivals, with the VF-19 proving unpredictable and difficult to manage tyres with.
Haas will run the latest-spec version of its VF-19 Formula 1 car for both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix following a series of trials in recent races.
Haas currently sits second-from-bottom in the constructors' championship after a difficult start to the year that has seen it struggle for race pace against its midfield rivals, with the VF-19 proving unpredictable and difficult to manage tyres with.
Grosjean moved back to the Australia-spec version of the car for the last two races before the summer break in Germany and Hungary in an effort to get to the bottom of the ongoing issues. The Frenchman managed to reach Q3 in consecutive races for the first time since Australia and Bahrain, and scored points for P7 in Germany.
However, the split-spec experiment will end this weekend as the F1 season resumes in Belgium, with team principal Gunther Steiner confirming Grosjean would be moved back to the latest version of the car for Spa.
"For Spa we will go with the upgraded car, which we ran at Hockenheim. We’ve learned quite a bit out of it and tried to improve the car by changing some of the components," Steiner said.
"Both cars will be the same spec, and hopefully we can still learn more about it.”
Haas enters the second half of the season needing a turnaround to match its fifth-place finish in the standings from last year, but Steiner remains hopeful of the team's chances, sitting just 17 points shy of Toro Rosso in P5.
"Everything is possible, but it is difficult as our car doesn’t perform well in races, and that’s where you score the points," Steiner said.
"Nevertheless, we will be trying hard to pick up whatever we can. Hopefully, we can get a few more results, and then we’ll see how we end up in the standings.
"It’s good to have a few weeks to sit back and clear your mind, and then see what you need to do in the second half.
"It’s not a new season, but it’s just you hope you come back a little more rested and you get a few things sorted out."
