Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner says the squad will “fight hard” to recapture seventh position in the Constructors’ Championship, after slipping behind rivals Renault at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Haas scored two points at Marina Bay courtesy of Romain Grosjean’s ninth place, but Jolyon Palmer’s sixth place ensured Renault moved ahead, and is now five points clear.
Haas set a pre-season target of improving on its rookie result of eighth in the standings, but now finds itself in the same position, a situation Steiner is keen to address.
“To go away with two points [in Singapore], for sure we worked hard for it, but we didn’t expect it,” said Steiner.
“All in all, we got a bit of a good end, but on the other side, we’re now eighth in the championship and not seventh.
“Coming in [to Singapore] we knew these things could happen, but we will fight hard to get back to seventh.”
On Haas’ performance in Singapore, Steiner said: “Our drivers, our whole team, did a good job. There was nothing wrong with our strategy.
“We always reacted very well. Both drivers kept the cars safe. Kevin [Magnussen] would’ve brought his home but he had an electronics issue. We’ll investigate that and why we had to shut it down.
“Romain did a good job and came home ninth with two points. We keep on going.”
Magnussen thanked Formula 1 officials for allowing drivers to race in the wet conditions early on, despite fears over spray.
“It was tough out there, but it was fun,” Magnussen said.
“It was challenging, but good on Formula 1 for letting us race and not having to start behind a Safety Car.
