For the first time this season the Uralkali Haas F1 Team are not last in the constructors standings, the teams combined best result of thirteenth for Mick Schumacher and fourteenth for Nikita Mazepin enabled the team to jump Williams Racing in the standings.
It was an uneventful race for both Haas drivers for the vast majority of the race, right up until lap forty-nine where a red flag was brought out after Max Verstappen crashed out from the lead in sudden fashion. A two-lap sprint finish followed and saw both Haas drivers battling each other hard. The battle continued right up to the line where Schumacher pipped Mazepin by 0.074s.
Schumacher was clearly angry as he came on the team radio after the race, complaining about a late move across the circuit by Mazepin, an issue dealt with since by Team Principal Guenther Steiner.
“Obviously it was an exciting race today, on one way or another, or even in all ways,” said Steiner. “In the end we had our best result of the year, which I’m very happy about for everybody.
“For where we are at the moment it’s very difficult to get this result. Everybody worked really hard and just due to that – it happened. Obviously, there was a situation on the straight, that was all resolved, and we’ve cleared the air. There was some misunderstanding, but we’re fine and all moving on from it.”
The team now move on to the French Grand Prix, where they will hope to remain in ninth place in the constructors standings.
