Photo: Haas F1 Team / Facebook
After being arguably the weakest-performing team in all of Formula 1 for the past two seasons, Haas appear to be back this year and when we say back, we mean all the way to the front of the midfield. Now, if that sounds like too bold of a statement, then you probably didn’t see yesterday the season opening race in Bahrain.
The Ferrari-powered Haas looked like the strongest team out there, behind only Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. Alpine, AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo did well too, but none could match Kevin Magnussen’s pace in the Haas.
Magnussen finished the race P5, while his teammate, Mick Schumacher, finished a respectable P11. Now, if this was still 2021, the midfield would have looked a little something like this: McLaren, Alpine, AlphaTauri and Aston Martin. This year though, the Mercedes-powered McLaren and Aston Martin cars were nothing more than backmarkers, at least through one race.
If you recall, we published this article back in December of last year, laying out scenarios for how far Haas could progress in 2022.
Allow me to quote myself: “If I had to guess, I’d say the best-case scenario is somewhere in the midfield – maybe they could leapfrog Alfa Romeo, Williams, Aston Martin and AlphaTauri too. Anything beyond that feels like a stretch, but you never know.”
Funny how that exact best-case scenario came into play in Bahrain this past weekend. However, never in my wildest dreams did I think that Haas could also leapfrog McLaren and Alpine. The jury is still out on whether they can consistently be faster than AlphaTauri (that Honda engine is still strong), but at least for one race, they certainly were.
Right now, the American outfit is third in the 2022 Constructor Standings, with a total of 10 points – all thanks to Magnussen’s amazing P5 finish. Meanwhile, both McLaren and Aston Martin have zero points, just like Williams and Red Bull. I do expect the latter to bounce back strong though.
Magnussen finished the race P5, while his teammate, Mick Schumacher, finished a respectable P11. Now, if this was still 2021, the midfield would have looked a little something like this: McLaren, Alpine, AlphaTauri and Aston Martin. This year though, the Mercedes-powered McLaren and Aston Martin cars were nothing more than backmarkers, at least through one race.
If you recall, we published this article back in December of last year, laying out scenarios for how far Haas could progress in 2022.
Allow me to quote myself: “If I had to guess, I’d say the best-case scenario is somewhere in the midfield – maybe they could leapfrog Alfa Romeo, Williams, Aston Martin and AlphaTauri too. Anything beyond that feels like a stretch, but you never know.”
Funny how that exact best-case scenario came into play in Bahrain this past weekend. However, never in my wildest dreams did I think that Haas could also leapfrog McLaren and Alpine. The jury is still out on whether they can consistently be faster than AlphaTauri (that Honda engine is still strong), but at least for one race, they certainly were.
Right now, the American outfit is third in the 2022 Constructor Standings, with a total of 10 points – all thanks to Magnussen’s amazing P5 finish. Meanwhile, both McLaren and Aston Martin have zero points, just like Williams and Red Bull. I do expect the latter to bounce back strong though.
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