Haas will have "stronger" upgrade push in F1 2023

The American outfit has been constrained by budget limits in recent seasons, which left its hands tied in terms of being able to afford regular development steps.

In 2021, the team brought only a single upgrade to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix very early in the campaign, whereas last year it focused its efforts on a single new package that it brought to the Hungarian Grand Prix.

With rivals bringing updates more frequently and able to make good progress, Haas has revealed that it is likely going to do things a bit differently in 2023 than it has in the past.

Speaking about the plans, Haas technical director Simone Resta said: "On upgrades, I think it's probably one of the most 'fashionable' arguments in Formula 1, and I won't spoil the surprise for anyone.

"For sure, we'll have a stronger programme of upgrades compared to last year and we are still working on that. We are at the very beginning.

"We've just defined the launch car, so the team is working on it, we have our roadmap, but it's very early to say exactly what we'll do and when."

Haas should have a bit more financial freedom this year, as the result of both moving up to eighth in the constructors' championship and landing a new title sponsorship deal with Moneygram.

And while team principal Gunther Steiner has said increased revenue will not prompt it to change its business model, Resta says there should be some benefits.

"Finishing eighth in the 2022 constructors' championship has been a very positive result for the team," he said.

"Of course, we aim to always do better and finish better, but I think it was a very good step forward and this will inevitably give some extra resources to the team.

"We are always trying to maximise the amount of money we can invest to move forward and make another step. That has been one of the aims with this new project to be able to have a stronger in-season development programme."

New Haas changes

Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Haas F1 Team

The new Haas VF-23 ran for the first time at Silverstone on Saturday and featured some key visual changes to last year's challenger.

In philosophy terms, Resta says it is just an evolution – but he is clear that a lot of detailed work has gone on to find both aero and weight improvements.

"We try to save a few of the components on last season's car but try to improve the aerodynamic performance of the car, improve the weight of the component and improve the quality of the component," he said.

"There has been a massive rework of the car – some of the components don't look radically different – it's probably more a development of the 2022 car but there is a complete rework of the car involving many, many components."