Haas F1 comes into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this coming weekend locked in a tight battle with the factory-backed Renault squad. The French outfit currently sits in seventh place on the constructors ladders, only three points ahead of Haas, but with point-paying results in five of the seven races run this season, the team's two drivers are eyeing another points-paying effort in Baku.
This will not only bolster their respective 12th- and 13th-place positions in the driver standings, but will also take hold of seventh in the constructors standings and potentially fight with sixth-place Williams, which currently enjoys a seven-point margin over the American based squad.
Last year, Haas scored points in just five races and with that tally already having been equaled in 2017 with still 13 races remaining, the American outfit believes Baku can be the scene of another points-scoring effort that can surpass its 2016 mark and keep the midfield battle as tight as the corners around Baku's historic Sabayil Castle, as Team Principal Guenther Steiner explains…
We're now a third of the way through Haas F1 Team's second year. How would you assess the season and the team's development to date? We've had our ups and downs, but we scored points in five of the seven races. And in one of those races, we were well on our way to score points, but then we had a mechanical failure. The midfield is very tough, and to score points five out of seven times is not bad. Sure, we need to score more points, not just one-point scores, but in general the team is maturing and I'm very confident that we'll keep maturing. Where are the areas where Haas F1 Team can improve? You've scored points in five of the seven races this season, when last year you scored points in five total races. Even though your point tally isn't as high as last year, are you happy with being in the points on a more consistent basis? Baku became the fastest street circuit in Formula One when it debuted last year and speeds have only increased this year. What do you expect with this newer, faster and wider car on a circuit that's only a year old? Was there anything from last year's race at Baku that's applicable to this year's race, or is it all out the window because the cars are so different? Most first-year events have some growing pains. But last year's race seemed to come off incredibly well. What did you think of Baku's first race? There's a lot of talk regarding future Formula One schedules. What would you like to see, both in terms of the amount of races and how the races are laid out? If the schedule does expand beyond 21 races, what would you need to do to ensure personnel can handle the added workload? Is there a part of the world where you'd like to see Formula One race? |