PHM Racing season review: Long-term plan in place but it will take time

12 December 2023

There is no avoiding how tough 2023 was for PHM Racing and Team Principal Paul Muller doesn’t shy away from that in his summary of their maiden Formula 2 campaign.

The German outfit failed to score a point as it battled through an F2 campaign for the first time, but the lessons learned are crucial to the team’s future prospects.

With a full campaign under their belt and a year of experience to rely upon, Muller says the team is much better placed to operate next season and has hopes of making progress further up the grid in 2024.

“It was tiring getting through 2023 but a season like this was necessary. Being immersed in the paddock and on the grid, you learn every single detail you need to get your head around. We learned a lot, next year we’re going to be going from scratch with a completely different attitude. For us it was the start and the foundation for the future.”

That future will begin with the introduction of a new car for 2024, which represents a big opportunity for PHM. As Muller says, everyone will be starting from the same point in terms of understanding of the new car, something he is looking for his team will be able to exploit.

Starting from the same point as their rivals, PHM is hopeful of starting out strong and making the most of the reset.

“We don’t know yet honestly. We’ll see but yes, it’s good to have a clean slate. For us as a team, it’s a good opportunity to have a season where we’re starting at the same point as all the other teams. Even experienced drivers, they have to adapt to a new car, so we’ll see.

“There are front axle changes, new aero changes so we’ll see which team can nail it the fastest. For us, we were already at zero so for us it’s good to start over.”

The team has been making huge efforts behind the scenes to improve performances, with investment in new staff to help better understand the new car and build up data it hopes will put the team on terms with their rivals.

It is just one element of a multi-faceted approach away from the race track that PHM hopes will propel them forward next season and beyond, with plans going well beyond the upcoming campaign currently underway.

“We’re replacing and hiring a lot of engineering expertise. We now have a whole vehicle dynamics group within the team that are trying to focus on building up the database. We’re starting fresh with real research on how the car works, setups to get it right, experts that help us level up faster.

“We want to consistently build up team performance to the next level, invest into the team, including our Academy drivers to build our team into something I want to see. We can definitely improve on ’23. In F2, our goal is to make a step forward. To us and to others, we want to prove that we can do this.”

After a chastening season building up from the bottom, PHM is targeting a marked step forward in 2024 but is under no illusions that it will be a simple proposition.

With the new car presenting a brand-new challenge to all of the teams and drivers and with more investment behind the scenes on improving facilities, staff and analysis, 2024 could be the reset the German outfit needs to break into the battle a little more often than was the case this year.

“For us it’s year zero. We survived 2023, that’s the nicest thing I can say, we made it through and it’s over. That’s the extent of it. We showed in F3 that there is something there but for us it was to get through and prepare everything for 2024. We have a long-term plan and one in place for 2025 on the F2 side, so we think that we can put up a fight over the next two to three years.

“On the F2 side, I would like to score points with both drivers which would be a success. It’s a very competitive Championship, next year is going to be tough so we’ll start with realistic goals and go from there.

“I think we can definitely score points. There’s more potential than people give credit for. We’re not talking poles, but we have a chance to make a challenge and we’re taking this seriously.”