Guenther Steiner is hoping the unfamiliarity of the Nürburgring will make for an interesting race this weekend, with the Team Principal of the Haas F1 Team hoping this opens up the chance of only a second top ten finish for the team in 2020.
Kevin Magnussen’s tenth place finish in the Hungarian Grand Prix in July is the only time either he or team-mate Romain Grosjean has breached the top ten this season, with the team sitting ninth in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead only of the pointless Williams Racing outfit.
Steiner points at the exciting race weekend at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello last month on a track unfamiliar to Formula 1, and with Formula 1 having not raced at the Nürburgring since 2013, he says it could be another interesting weekend for the sport, and one he hopes Haas can benefit from.
“Hopefully we can get a Mugello-style race,” said Steiner. “That was an interesting one for all the teams, all the spectators, basically it was great for everyone involved in it.
“The unknowns just kept coming towards us. Hopefully the same thing happens this weekend at the Nürburgring. As I said before, rain is the prediction for Germany, that will make things even more interesting.
“The best outcome will be if we have a good race, with lots of variables, and from our perspective, to come home with some points – something we haven’t achieved a lot of this year.”
One of the high points of 2020 has been the starts of Magnussen, with the Dane more often than not making significant gains on the opening lap of a race. At the Sochi Autodrom two weeks ago, he made up seven spots on lap one to run inside the points, but Steiner says they cannot plan for such a start within their strategies.
“I wouldn’t say you can put it in your strategy,” he said. “I think Kevin has shown that he’s one of the best starters, if not the best one on the grid.
“It’s been pretty amazing what he’s done this year with his starts. You always hope for it but starts are such an unknown that you cannot really strategically use them. We always hope for the best, but it doesn’t go into our strategy planning.”
