Haas F1 Team principal Gunther Steiner experienced some mixed feelings following the Austrian Grand Prix, in which Romain Grosjean achieved a season-best sixth-place finish while Kevin Magnussen retired with a hydraulic issue.
Grosjean’s sixth place secured Haas’ best finish since last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, in which the Frenchman took a well-earned fifth. However, Steiner felt that Haas were capable of a double-points finish before Magnussen was forced to retire.
“(There were) highs and lows; the good thing here was that we showed the pace of the car and we had a good race.
“Unfortunately, Kevin had a hydraulic problem. We need to look into what it was, but he was racing hard. Again, we were up for having two cars in the points, but we’ll get there.
“Fantastic from Romain – he drove a calm, solid race and it was our best result of the year.”
Steiner also accepted that Haas might not be able to continue its strong form over the rest of the season, but hopes that the team can continue to secure top 10 finishes. After Austria, Haas currently sit on 29 points, equal to their entire 2016 tally.
“We’ll have some lows after this,” said Steiner sanguinely, “but we’ll enjoy what we’ve got and keep on digging for more points.”
