Last season’s Bahrain Grand Prix was an absolute dream for Haas, as Kevin Magnussen managed to finish in P5 on his second debut for the team after being called up at short notice to replace the sacked Nikita Mazepin.
It looked as if the 2023 edition of the race could bear similar fruit for Haas, as the returning Nico Hulkenberg managed to make it all the way through to Q3 on his first full-time F1 start for a number of years.
Unfortunately for Hulkenberg, his debut for Haas did not go anywhere near as well as Magnussen’s, with the German suffering from contact on the first lap of the race.
This contact saw Hulkenberg sustain damage to his front wing and drop back to P14, making the fight for points a very difficult one for Haas, with Magnussen starting the race in P18.
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Haas eventually called Hulkenberg into the pits for fresh tyres and a new front wing and eagle-eyed viewers spotting one of the team’s mechanics taking an unfortunate tumble.
After removing the damaged front wing, two mechanics began to carry the part inside the garage, with one walking backwards and one walking forwards.
The backpedalling mechanic suffered the unfortunate fate of falling over a soft compound tyre which was sat on the floor behind him, resulting in him ending up on the floor alongside it.
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All of this was caught by the live broadcast of the race, which was covering Hulkenberg’s extended pit stop to see what work the team would do to the German’s car.
With zero points to their name, Haas’ season has not started off at all how they would have liked it to but Hulkenberg’s Q3 appearance will give the team hope for the future.
The 35-year-old managed to knock out the likes of McLaren’s Lando Norris on the way to his P10 start, with Hulkenberg not setting a time in Q3 to save him some fresh tyres for the race.