With 10 points for fifth place in the opening race of the 2022 season, Haas scored more points in one evening in Bahrain than they had over the 50 previous race weekends combined.
Not only did it vindicate the team’s decision to abandon development on their VF-21 before it had raced a single lap last season, and prioritise their 2022 car instead, it showed Haas could become regular points scorers in the midfield once again after three seasons in the doldrums.
But after Kevin Magnussen added two further points to the team’s tally in Saudi Arabia, Haas’ pace appeared to abandon them in Australia – with Magnussen and team mate Mick Schumacher qualifying only 17th and 15th, respectively, before finishing the race in 13th and 14th.
So what happened to the VF-22 in Melbourne that led to their pace over the first two night races seemingly evaporate under the Australian sun?
“Well, we’re still kind of working on trying to find answers for that,” Magnussen admitted after…