Hülkenberg esulta dopo il 12° posto in qualifica: “Una mezza sorpresa!”

(Motorsport-Total.com) – Nico Hülkenberg missed out on making it into Q3 in the Formula 1 qualifying session in Japan by just 0.077 seconds. The Haas driver had to settle for twelfth place in the midfield, but the German is “very satisfied” as the Haas VF-24 is not well-suited to the Suzuka track.

“It was very positive, so if it was less than a tenth, then it’s a bit of a sensation,” Hülkenberg told Sky after qualifying. “Because it was absolutely difficult so far this weekend, and the car struggles as expected on this track with the characteristics of our car not really fitting here.”

“In the briefing before qualifying, it looked pretty bleak, and [the engineers in their predictions] saw both of us getting eliminated in Q1. But I’m glad I proved them wrong, our strategy guys.”

Not enough downforce: Haas loses all time in the first sector

Looking at the sector times, the Emmericher particularly struggled in the twisty first sector. In this part of the track, he lost almost three tenths to Yuki Tsunoda, who made it into the third qualifying segment with a tenth place in Q2. However, Hülkenberg was the third-fastest driver in the predominantly straight final sector behind the two Red Bulls.

“[The first sector] was better than yesterday, but it is still our weakest sector because we don’t have enough downforce on the car. That was the weakness, and it’s hard to fight against it in the first sector when you don’t have enough downforce. There’s not much you can do, but we’re pretty good in the third sector, and hopefully that will benefit us tomorrow.”

“Williams is in a similar boat. I think Alpine and Sauber have taken a slightly different approach. They have more downforce but are much slower on the straights because of that. It will be interesting to see who has the upper hand tomorrow, but I expect that we will all be pretty close and have a good fight.”

Points now possible? What will be crucial

Nevertheless, the performance represents an improvement compared to last year when Hülkenberg finished 18th in Q1 and came in at a distant 14th in the race. “It wasn’t too long ago, just six months, when we were here, and there is definitely a noticeable change, a clear improvement,” says the 36-year-old.

“Nevertheless, it is always relative, and you look at where the others are driving and try to improve your own package, but we are much happier.”

Last year, high tire wear made points impossible for Haas on Sundays. According to the data, Suzuka after Bahrain last year was the track with the highest tire wear of the entire season. So what can we expect from Haas in 2024?

“It will be a tough race,” believes Hülkenberg. “Suzuka is a tire eater track and it’s not going to be easy. But I think we are well-prepared for the midfield battle against the usual teams: Sauber, Williams, and Alpine seem to be in the mix as well, so it’s going to be tough back there, I believe.”

“But overtaking is difficult here, even with DRS. It’s one of the toughest overtaking spots of the season. We’ll see what happens. I think tomorrow will be much more about tire management and who has the least wear. That will be the key in the end.”

Magnussen out in Q1 after major setup overhaul

His Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen was eliminated in the first qualifying segment and will start from 18th place in the race. The Dane struggled with a major setup change before qualifying, which made his qualifying session difficult.

“I think maybe we didn’t have the best preparation for the weekend with major setup changes, then with the disrupted FP2, with the weather. It wasn’t ideal and we made some big changes for qualifying, which were better, but it would have been better not to do it,” says Magnussen.

“I think it was very difficult to drive. We knew that the track wouldn’t suit us, but also the balance of the car, especially on my side, was very difficult. It improved significantly in qualifying, but it’s difficult to go out there and immediately make the most of it if you haven’t tried it in practice.”

F1: Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka) 2024 – Saturday

“However, we already knew it was going to be tough. I think apart from the fact that the high-speed corners are not our favorite this year, we feel more comfortable at low speeds and on the straight, and we are quite efficient.”

Strategy poker: Will Magnussen try the one-stop?

For Magnussen, points from 18th on the grid will be immensely difficult, but Team Principal Ayao Komatsu had already emphasized in the past races that they will distribute the probabilities with both cars in terms of strategy.

Possibly, the Dane could be propelled forward with a sophisticated strategy such as a one-stop strategy, which on paper definitely seems slower than a two-stop strategy.

“It’s going to be tricky,” he says when asked about this possibility. “But as we have seen this year, we are usually stronger in the race than in qualifying. Hopefully that will also be the case tomorrow, and we will fight to move forward.”