Nico Hülkenberg is hoping for a good result again in Las Vegas this weekend. The Haas F1 driver believes his VF-24 can have good potential, while the team will want to regain its sixth place in the championship.
“There is no reason, every weekend we have to see how the car behaves, with the asphalt. We will have to see how it reacts tomorrow but during the second half of the season we were competitive. We will try to continue this and maximize the last race hat-trick” Hulkenberg said.
The latter does not necessarily believe in luck, even if he admits that it is a component of car racing: “You have to be lucky, but sometimes you make your own luck. It's about timing, with the safety cars for example. It comes and it comes, but the most important thing is to have a good car.”
The German will team up with Gabriel Bortoleto at Stake next year, and he reveals that he quickly spoke to his future teammate: “I had a call with Mattia and he was with him, so we spoke briefly. I haven't met him yet but that will probably happen in the next few weeks.”
“He will bring his talent, his speed. He won as a rookie in F3, he is leading in F2 as a rookie and that is impressive. He has a good ability to adapt, which is important in F1 as well I expect him to be strong, we have an experienced guy with me and a promising newbie with him, so it’s a promising duo.”
Kevin Magnussen thinks getting back to sixth place in the championship will be difficult: “You can't be confident at all. You know, we weren't even thinking about Alpine, really, in this battle, and suddenly they're in front of us. So I think we feel like we're in a good position with the car.”
“And recently we have always been in the points race. Now that Aston Martin is struggling, there are points available in every race. So it's exciting. We are now three teams for that sixth place, this which, for the teams, means a lot.”
“You know, whether you finish eighth or sixth, it's not nothing. And yes, for a driver, of course, it's not something you put on your CV, but it means so much to everyone that it’s worth fighting for.”
The Dane in any case welcomes the work carried out by Haas to develop the single-seater in 2024, with positive results: “I think the improvements we've made this year have been beneficial across the board.”
“They made the car slightly quicker on a lap, a little easier to drive and better with the tires. It just gave the car a little bit of a wider window every time we added something. “So it's a very good job on the part of the team.”
“It's kind of this year's title, I think. If you look at what we've improved the most, it's the way we've been able to develop the car throughout the season, whereas most “In other years or almost every other year, we haven't been able to do it.”
“I think we had a good car at the start, because the whole team is available during the winter. They did a good job, but during the season, not so much. So it's a big step forward to see the improvements we have been able to make.”
Magnussen has missed two races out of the last five, and he is happy to get back behind the wheel: “From the sound of you, it's not much! It's a lot. I mean, yes, it's strange… I've been watching too much Formula 1 on TV lately, and yes, it will be nice to be back, hopefully, in the race.”
While he no longer has a contract for 2025, he is not worried about his future: “I've been in this situation twice before, and this is the third time it feels like it's the last race. I know you never know. In a way, it It's a good thing.”
“I don't really think about it. Next year I won't be in Formula 1, that's clear, but I've learned over the years and my experiences that every race you do, you just have to enjoy it. And, you know, while it lasts, you have to enjoy it.
The relationship between Magnussen and Haas, which began in 2017, could nevertheless continue in another form, as he discussed with director Ayao Komatsu: “We made it clear that we wanted to collaborate in some way.”
“We're talking about how we could do it, of course. It's kind of coming from Ayao and I'm willing to listen to what he thinks and see if I can be helpful in some way .”
