Haas worried German GP will expose its slow corner weakness 

Haas Formula 1 boss Günther Steiner admits he is concerned the Hockenheimring’s slow final sector could hurt his team’s chances at this weekend’s German Grand Prix. 

The US outfit was the only midfield team to score points across all three races of F1’s first-ever triple header, as it surged up to fifth place in the constructors’ championship, having made the most of high-speed circuits in France, Austria and Great Britain. 

Haas worried German GP will expose its slow corner weakness 

Haas Formula 1 boss Günther Steiner admits he is concerned the Hockenheimring’s slow final sector could hurt his team’s chances at this weekend’s German Grand Prix. 

The US outfit was the only midfield team to score points across all three races of F1’s first-ever triple header, as it surged up to fifth place in the constructors’ championship, having made the most of high-speed circuits in France, Austria and Great Britain. 

But following Haas’ struggles at May’s Monaco Grand Prix around the slow-speed, tight and twisty Monte Carlo circuit, team principal Steiner is worried Hockenheim’s slow final sector will expose the biggest weakness of its VF-18 challenger. 

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“We are a little bit worried about the tight sector of Hockenheim, as it’s very slow,” Steiner said. 

“Then again, we will work on it to do our best. For sure, the car is more competitive on high-speed corners. It’s actually very competitive on high-speed corners. 

“We’ve had some issues on the slow-speed tracks. Let’s see what we can do on Friday to set the car up to get over our deficiencies on the low-speed portions. Maybe we’ll find a little bit of speed there and still be competitive.”

Steiner stressed Haas’ 2018 car design was focused around the number of high-speed tracks that dominate the calendar in order to maximise performance at those races and ensure greater consistency during the season. 

“The majority of the racetracks are not low speed, so our aero people didn’t focus too much on that one, but more on the tracks where the majority of the races are held,” he explained. “Aerodynamically, the car is better on high-speed corners.”

Romain Grosjean is confident Haas should fair better at upcoming races in Germany and Hungary than the team did in Monaco, adding the American squad’s latest upgrade has improved the car’s previous weaknesses in low speed corners. 

“We’ve been good everywhere, except Monaco, to be fair,” the Frenchman said. "The latest upgrade we had is a really good step forward. It makes the car better in low speed, as well. I think high speed we’ve got a really good balance. 

“It’s a really consistent car with good downforce. In low speed, we know we can improve a little bit more, we know where, but the car is not bad either. I think we could actually be alright in Germany and in Hungary.”

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