Nico Hülkenberg quipped that he was going through his tyres “like a hot knife through butter” after picking up damage at the start of Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Hülkenberg, who displayed promising pace during practice, qualified inside the top 10 upon his full-time return to Formula 1 on his first appearance for Haas.
Hülkenberg suffered a slow start to Sunday’s race, dropping positions, and also made minor contact that resulted in front wing damage.
The German failed to credibly challenge for the top 10 places thereafter and ultimately classified in 15th place.
“It was a tricky race – especially the first half,” said Hulkenberg.
“I had contact with someone on lap one which I didn’t really notice so that was a bit frustrating. I had quite a lot missing from the front wing and lost a lot of load and grip with that, and that made the first half of the race very tough.
“We tried to hang in there, but I was going through my tyres like a hot knife through butter, so we decided there was no point in continuing like that and we pitted for a new front wing.
“We did a race distance though and got lots of good information, so we’ll definitely take that.”
Kevin Magnussen, who was eliminated in Q1 on Saturday, gained places to finish 13th, though the results meant Haas missed out on scoring points.
“I was pleasantly surprised with our race pace,” said Magnussen. “We started P17 but still made up a few positions and it felt like the pace was alright in terms of where we came from.
“I think we were struggling a lot in testing and on Friday with tyre wear and in the race it seemed like we made a step, which is positive. It wasn’t the weekend we dreamed of, but we learned a lot.”
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