“We actually needed a real step in performance”: Nico Hulkenberg not convinced by recent Haas F1 upgrades

Nico Hulkenberg mentioned that the major upgrade on the VF-23 has not worked for the Haas F1 team and they need a "real step" in performance in the final two races.

It was yet another dismal weekend for the American team as they could not score any points in either Sprint or the main race in Brazil. Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen were involved in a first-lap crash with Alex Albon which left Albon and Magnussen out of the race and Hulkenberg with big damage to his car.

Speaking with Sky Germany, the German driver, however, said that the major upgrade that the team introduced in Austin has not worked as they had hoped. He said:

"It's not a clear step forward. We understand that now and we know that. It feels similar in some places, better in some, and worse in some. At the end of the day, it's balanced. But we actually needed a real step forward in performance. Unfortunately, that didn't happen."

"We have to go into the topic and see how we approach the topics of car concept and aerodynamics next year. Aerodynamics is currently our biggest weak point and we have to address that. Otherwise, it will be next year run similarly."

Nico Hulkenberg analyzes his Brazilian GP performance

The German driver was yet again a bystander in a three-car crash and ended up with a lot of damage but managed to continue to finish the race in P12.

Nico Hulkenberg said:

"I have no idea, it was similar to Qatar. Alex passed on the right, and Kevin also came up and tackled me. Of course, he doesn't know that there is another car to my right. A classic racing accident. Ultimately he pushed up a little too much. If he had stayed down, this wouldn't have happened."

He added:

"Our package didn't work at all here. The tire took us out again on one lap, but on the second and third laps, nothing worked anymore. Here it's really old asphalt, which really causes problems for our car and causes the aerodynamics to completely disintegrate in some corners. That's why it didn't work."

With another home race for the team coming up in Vegas, Haas and Nico Hulkenberg would hope that the track layout suits their car a bit better. The team really needs a good haul of points to avoid finishing bottom in the constructors championship in the 2023 season.