Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has said he is cautiously optimistic about his team’s pace from the Australian Grand Prix but is aware there are critics out there unsure as to whether Haas can sustain its performance level.
Romain Grosjean managed to secure sixth on the grid in Melbourne and was running well until his car developed an issue with the power unit. Team-mate Kevin Magnussen struggled in qualifying and then had a clumsy collision with Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson on the opening lap into Turn 3.
“We are cautiously optimistic,” said Steiner.
“We need to still prove that our performance wasn’t a one-off. It’s very tight in the midfield. On a good day, you could be on top, but on a bad day, you could be at the back.
“The other midfield teams have shown that this can happen. I think we surprised a little bit with our performance, especially Romain qualifying sixth with his lap, which was four-tenths faster than (Felipe) Massa’s. That’s pretty good.”
Despite the issues that occurred in Melbourne, Steiner also believes the speed in the team isn’t just a fluke and is down to the hard work they have put in over the winter period, knowing they have to prove themselves against those who question their performance.
Steiner added: “There will always be doubters.
“We’ll always be told that next year will be more difficult, and then we have to prove it again.
“You have to prove yourself every year in Formula One.
“Again, qualifying sixth in the first race of 2017 quieted our critics a little bit. They will come back, but we proved we didn’t just get lucky last year.”
After two superb races in 2016, the Chinese Grand Prix saw a slump in the performance of Haas as Romain Grosjean finished down in 19th place a lap down, while former driver Esteban Gutierrez only managed 14th place.
Comments.
Loading comments…