Haas produced an encouraging result with Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen during the Austrian Grand Prix after both finished inside the points.
Hulkenberg fought from ninth on the grid up to sixth after a brief battle with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, while Magnussen was eighth at the chequered flag.
It was an important result for the team as it puts them back in the fight for seventh in the Constructors’ Championship having now scored 19 points in the last 11 races, which is 10 more than Alpine who are behind them in eighth.
Haas has produced several of its points-scoring finishes this year after teamwork between their drivers on track, notably during the Saudi Arabian and Miami Grands Prix weekends when Magnussen acted as a ‘rear gunner’ for Hulkenberg to prevent them from falling behind rivals.
Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer thinks this approach will make a difference for the American team when speaking on the F1 TV post-Austrian GP show.
Jolyon Palmer outlines key differences in Haas/Alpine battle
The Alpine drivers have produced their fair share of on-track spats this year, most recently at Monaco where Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly collided on the opening lap, putting a potential points finish at risk.
Ocon took to social media to apologise for the incident, while team principal Bruno Famin was livid with the incident when speaking to French media after the race.
Palmer believes the difference in dynamics between the two teams will be a key difference in the battle for the Constructors’ positions at the end of the season.
“I feel like you’ve got this battle with Haas and Alpine. The Haas drivers work so well together, ok they had a little fight but K-MAG let Hulkenberg through after the pit stops. They were doing their own thing,” said Palmer.
“I think they’re working well, we’ve seen it already Magnussen has been sacrificed in races to help Hulkenberg out, and they’re in this fight with Alpine who are doing the opposite.
“They’re just getting their elbows out and fighting each other, remember Monaco where they actually took points physically off each other, they’re not doing the team game and that’s sometimes the difference. When Haas is in perfect harmony with their drivers, it helps to deliver big points.”
Esteban Ocon does not have to play team game
Ocon confirmed after Monaco that he is leaving the French outfit at the end of the season, meaning there is less incentive to work with Gasly for any end result.
He is reportedly looking at going to Haas alongside British driver Oliver Bearman, with the American team taking a whole new driver lineup in 2025.
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If this is the case, it makes it even less likely that Ocon will be willing to play the team game with Gasly if he needs to for the rest of the season. After Monaco, the pair subsequently had another incident in Canada during the final laps when Ocon initially ignored team orders to let Gasly through to try and overtake Daniel Ricciardo for more points.
While he eventually let Gasly overtake, he did so on the premise that the team ‘make it right in the end’ and hand him the position back. When he was told there would be no swap on the final lap, he sent a sarcastic message over team radio.
Even though Haas are favourites to sign Ocon, Audi could make a late push to sign him depending on the outcome of Carlos Sainz.
The post ‘Elbows out’: Jolyon Palmer shares why he thinks Haas will score more points than Alpine this season appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
