Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner says the operation “just needs to execute” a clean weekend after a spate of missed opportunities from the opening rounds of the season.
Haas has run prominently towards the front of the midfield in 2018 but holds only eighth in the Constructors’ Championship, on 11 points, just a point ahead of Sauber, with Romain Grosjean one of only two drivers yet to score.
Cross-threaded wheel nuts in the pits cost Haas a handful of points in Australia, where Kevin Magnussen and Grosjean were on for fourth and fifth, while the timing of the Safety Car proved disruptive in China.
Magnussen and Grosjean were both compromised in qualifying in Azerbaijan through technical problems and left empty-handed after an incident-packed race, in which Magnussen clashed with two rivals and Grosjean crashed out of sixth under the Safety Car.
Steiner believes Haas – Formula 1’s newest team having entered in 2016 – is “getting better” at reducing mistakes, but accepts it still has to make progress.
“We just need to execute,” said Steiner on the importance of a smooth weekend at the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix.
“The car is capable at any track to get into the points. We just need to execute and we need a little bit of luck. As much as I don’t believe in being unlucky, I wouldn’t call us lucky this year.
“A little bit of luck, and good execution, which we’ve shown we can do, and the car is there. At the moment, we could do it any weekend, we just need to get all the t’s crossed and the i’s dotted.
“In comparison with our competitors, our car is better than the last two years. So, every little mistake away from the race car, on the operations side, has big consequences, as we’ve seen this year.
“We’re getting better, and how you go about that, the people responsible for it need to understand the responsibility, and we try to work hard to implement new processes and new procedures.”
Steiner reckons that Haas’ pace this year proves it could contend for podium positions – but only if Formula 1’s leading three teams encounter problems.
“If all the stars line up, then it’s possible, like in Azerbaijan where it did for Sergio Perez and everything lined up for him and he took the opportunity,” Steiner commented.
“Something like this needs to come up for us to achieve that. Just racing ourselves into a podium will be difficult without other circumstances, like some of the top-three teams dropping out.”
