F1 | Haas: communication error led to disqualification

Haas closed qualifying with a twelfth and fifteenth place, outside the potential points zone, despite the improvements made by Ferrari at the suspension level which allowed more freedom from the point of view of set-up and management of heights from the ground.

However, the problems ahead of the GP are not so much linked to the positions with which they finished on Saturday, but rather those from which they will start in today’s race, because the two Haas will not start towards the middle of the group, but from the back of the grid. In fact, both single-seaters were disqualified at the end of official practice due to a technical irregularity linked to the rear wing, more specifically linked to the opening of the DRS, which was greater than permitted.

The regulation provides that the maximum opening of the mobile flap is 85mm: once that measurement is exceeded, the car violates the technical regulation, resulting in disqualification as it was for Lewis Hamilton in the 2021 Brazilian GP, ​​when he was excluded from qualifying for the same which is why Haas was excluded yesterday.

During the classic post-session technical checks, the FIA ​​inspectors found that on both cars of the American team the opening exceeded the 85mm allowed by the regulations, so disqualification was inevitable.

Speaking about how Haas found itself in such a situation, Team Principal Ayao Komatsu said that the main cause was the lack of communication between the various departments of the team on the implications arising from the new rear wing design that debuted just over the weekend in Munich.

In fact, just like other teams, Haas also showed up in Monte Carlo with a high-load wing in order to guarantee as much downforce as possible to the car, with the aim of giving the drivers greater confidence in the car. On a track like that of the Principality, in fact, more than certain characteristics of the car, the confidence that the driver has in the vehicle, in the ability to graze the walls and seek the limit, has an important specific weight.

That design change, however, meant that the 85mm measurement no longer had to be carried out in the central part of the wing, as happened with the old project, but at the ends. However, the design department had not explicitly warned the team on track of this problem, which is why the mechanics continued with the normal checks as in previous events, without adapting to the changes.

The instrument used to measure the opening of the DRS

Photo credit: Aston Martin

“If the designers had clearly said that the new wing was slightly different from previously used wings in this aspect, and that therefore the DRS opening had to be verified in this way, it would have been helpful. But at the same time, even with other information , those who carry out checks on the track should have checked the entire surface to check its legality”, said Komatsu, who did not place the blame on a single individual.

“There was no performance gain, absolutely none, but that’s not the point. The car has to be legal. We must therefore accept it as a team failure and learn from it, making sure we don’t do the same thing again mistake”.

Komatsu believes the DRS exclusion demonstrated how the team needs to improve its processes to prevent it from happening again in the future. Furthermore, on a circuit like this where track position really makes the difference, starting so far back could have a negative impact on the race, pushing Haas to opt for more aggressive strategies in the hope of a Safety Car.

“For the designer who designed it, it’s clear in his mind: This wing is legal, but it has a different profile. So he should have thought: Do I need to communicate this to make sure other people who didn’t design the wing understand this? For the people working on the track, if this aspect had been highlighted, it would have helped even without this element, with a brand new rear wing, nothing should be taken for granted: that’s what we should do.”

The new wing introduced in Monaco: the mechanics on the track were not told that the DRS measurement would have to be changed

Picture of: Giorgio Piola

Teams tend to have specific manuals to communicate between the factory and the race venue, given that the mechanics on the track must still be able to assemble all the pieces designed by the designers. There are procedures, in particular with technical diagrams, to indicate these aspects to the mechanics, but in this case there was a lack of communication on this specific aspect.

“We communicate mainly through drawings. And if there are certain procedures that need to be done differently, there are instructions. But in this particular case, whoever designed the wing didn’t think about it. So he completed the drawing, but it wasn’t clearly stated that it was different. But I don’t want to blame just one person. Because even those who were on the track, without knowing this information, knowing that it was a completely new wing, should have checked, which we didn’t do,” added the Team Principal.

Since the wing issue concerns how the team set the maximum DRS opening, it was not necessary to change the specification for the race, thus avoiding the pit lane start. The two Haas cars will therefore regularly start from the back row of the grid.

“It’s the same wing, but we can adjust it. With the DRS, there is a mechanism that allows you to adjust it to get a certain opening. We made a modification request under Parc Fermé to adjust it. But it’s legal and it was approved. So , we carry out the adjustments on both cars and we will start from the last row”, added Komatsu, underlining that they were satisfied with the set-up chosen on both cars, so no setup changes were even made that would have required starting from the pit lane.