Haas: Hülkenberg showed us what we did wrong at Silverstone

(Motorsport-Total.com) - Nico Hülkenberg says he had 700 messages on his phone after his first podium finish at Silverstone – one of them from his last year's Haas team boss, Ayao Komatsu. The Japanese driver had also written to him because he didn't want to disrupt Sauber's celebrations with a personal conversation.

Komatsu is happy for his former protégé: "He deserves it; he drove a very, very good race," he praises. "I mean, you probably saw our Instagram video when Nico crossed the finish line—our people were happy. That shows how much we appreciated working with him."

But one man's joy is another man's sorrow: The good results of Sauber and several other competitors put Haas at a disadvantage. The American racing team failed to score any points and lost two places in the World Championship , where they currently sit ninth. "Of course, it makes our challenge more difficult now, but that's the sport, right?" says Komatsu.

"Now we simply have to raise our own game to a higher level to turn the result around." The role model here is precisely Hülkenberg and his "brilliant feedback," which, along with good decisions, formed the basis for the success in Great Britain.

"Nico did a great job switching to the second set of Inters – it was his decision. He had the right instinct," praised the Haas team principal. "He had the confidence to tell the team what he wanted, and the team delivered. Hats off to him. He was amazing."

Things didn't go so well for Haas, however, despite actually having a strong car, as demonstrated by Oliver Bearman's eighth place in qualifying. However, the Briton had only started the race from 18th place after a grid penalty and was one of the drivers who pitted for dry tires at the start of the race.

"Even before the race, even on the grid, we had the mindset: It'll dry out quickly, we have to take risks, we have to try something," says Komatsu. "Sure, the wettest sector was 15, 16, and 17—but we still could have stopped. But we didn't. Because our mindset was wrong."

With a different mindset, points would have been possible

The Japanese driver is disappointed with the events at Silverstone, and also with himself. "We had a fast car. We qualified eighth, and the driver was really happy with the car," he says.

"Yes, if it had been a completely dry race with just one stop, we might have had to get creative—but in changeable conditions, we should have just focused on our own race," Komatsu laments. Instead, he and the team were so focused on forcing a result.

"We should have just focused on what was right in front of us and tried to deliver our best race. That's exactly what Nico did, right? Nico's communication with the team was brilliant."

Komatsu is convinced that if they had applied this mindset, the racing team could have achieved a good result and wouldn't have gone home empty-handed in eleventh and thirteenth places. "That's why I was so dissatisfied after the race."

Memories of Japan 2022

What's particularly disappointing for the Japanese driver is that this wasn't the first time this had happened to him. He recalls the 2022 Suzuka race, which began under heavy rain and had to be stopped early.

"We had Mick [Schumacher] in the car, and the car definitely wasn't fast enough to score points. But because the race was so chaotic on lap 1, Mick was in eighth place at the restart. And all I was thinking about was: How can we convert this into points? In the end, we messed it up because we wanted to force the result."

"For me, it's just a harsh reminder that you can't force it. You have to focus on what's right in front of you—on the basics," he continues.

"That's why I'm disappointed in myself because we didn't deliver those basics. And honestly, that's something I preach nine times out of ten. That's the message I always convey."

"But it's an internal conflict. I tell everyone: P11 or P18—it makes no difference to me, because both are zero points. But maybe I instilled that message too strongly and thereby put too much pressure on everyone—including the drivers."

But this mindset has now been adjusted after Silverstone. "Now we're just focusing on what's directly in front of us. That's especially important here, right?" Komatsu said. "The conditions are constantly changing, the track is so long. If you gamble and react a lap too late, you're out."

Bearman regains confidence in the car

But there were also positives for Haas. The car was generally fast, and Bearman said that for the first time, he had a feeling as good as he had in the Ferrari. Above all, he had confidence in the car, which hadn't been the case before, especially in fast corners.

Komatsu recalls that his driver was "quite slow," especially in the final fast corner in Barcelona, because he lacked confidence. "Even though that had been his strength in Jeddah before, that was a big one. But then he had a few slip-ups, and I felt that caused him to lose confidence in the car, especially at high speed."

But the upgrade at Silverstone gave him back his confidence: "We brought his car up to the latest specification starting in the second free practice session - and although it wasn't immediately visible in the lap time, it was clear to me from his comments: as long as we can balance the car, he'll be fast."

"And that's exactly what we demonstrated in the third practice session," he says. "That was exactly the direction he wanted – and our guys executed it brilliantly." In the end, they finished eighth in qualifying.

Ocon with a different driving style than Bearman

For teammate Esteban Ocon, however, things were a little different. The Frenchman couldn't get beyond 15th place, but according to Komatsu, he also expects something different from his car, given his different driving style.

"If you look at the data, you can see the difference in the inputs. It's definitely there, but not huge. But it's enough to trigger certain reactions from the car," he says. "It's pretty clear what he could do better on his end to get the most out of the car—but of course, we also understand his driving style."

At Spa-Francorchamps, they hope to apply what they learned at Silverstone, even though the event's sprint format presents a different challenge. "We had a whole weekend at Silverstone to set up and optimize the car. But this is a sprint weekend, which makes it more difficult," says Komatsu.

"Nevertheless, we learned a lot at Silverstone. So we should take these lessons with us as a team - and hopefully we can start this weekend a little better."