Haas Formula 1: With a better car, the team is “ready to get points” in Q2

Gunther Steiner, the head of the Haas Formula One team, believes that once the team creates a competitive car, it will be able to compete for points on a regular basis.

Haas has struggled for pace this season after deciding not to build its 2021 car in order to focus completely on F1’s new set of technical regulations in 2022, with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin frequently finishing in the last row of the grid.

For the first time this season, a Haas car qualified for Q2 in qualifying on Saturday, thanks to Mick Schumacher’s 14th spot in Q1.

Beyond that clear breakthrough and Schumacher’s performance, team boss Steiner noted that his race team executed the right strategy and execution to get there, giving him confidence that his crew will be ready to collect points if it gets a better car.

When asked how reassuring it is to watch Haas’ race weekend management, Steiner responded: “Yeah, that was my personal greatest satisfaction, to see how the team executed.”

“We are ready for next year, you know. We are fine. Yeah, we will make mistakes as well, but there was a chance there, and it was working as [if] they have worked together since three or five years.

“Mick was very calm, his race engineer did a great job, always staying calm. Especially having Ayao [Komatsu] working as standing in for Nikita [Mazepin’s] race engineer, so there was no Chief Race Engineer there.

“And they all did a good job, everybody did what they needed to do, the mechanics.”

“That’s what made me happy, because now we are ready. If we’ll get a better car, the race team is ready to get some points.”

After colliding with Fernando Alonso on the first lap of Sunday’s wet race, Schumacher’s hopes of scoring disappeared, and he finished 19th, just ahead of teammate Mazepin.

However, after a three-year slide to the back of the grid, Steiner claimed the Q2 spot was a rare reward for his team.

“I’m very happy for the team to be honest, because they all work hard all the time to get everything out,” he explained.

“I see what they are doing and there is no result in the end, and, you know, I almost feel bad about that, but I’m very happy for them because I know the effort they put into it.

“Maybe three years ago we were unhappy not going into Q3, now we are happy to get out of Q1. It’s a different thing, but the guys, just a little bit of success carries them forward.

“Everything was done good, and it shows that you just have to keep on going, working hard, and things will come to us.”

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