Formula 1 | For Steiner, the ‘good surprise’ at Silverstone validates the evolution program

Yet without any development, Haas negotiated the pitfalls of Silverstone very well, to achieve his first double entry in the points since 2019.

With these 5 units, Haas has regained its confidence… but wasn’t Günther Steiner surprised himself when many other teams were bringing changes?

« It was a nice surprise to finish with two cars in the top 10, but we know the car is capable of doing it, and the team is capable of doing it, it’s just that the last five races have been very difficult. When the opportunity presented itself this time with the red flag, we were lost places, we did not receive anything for free. »

“The car was solid, the drivers too, so we took advantage of that to push forward. I think it was deserved after a few frustrating races. »

So it looks like Haas is succeeding in further maximizing the existing package – while upgrades are expected in Hungary or possibly after.

« I’ve always said we weren’t going to introduce changes just to introduce them because everyone else is doing it, we’re going our own way. We’ll introduce them when we feel we’ve earned enough to get something and it’s not just a fair effort for display. If all goes well for Hungary, we have a package coming up, just before summer vacation, and hopefully we’ll be able to unlock VF-22 a bit more with that. As we have seen, the VF-22 is still going strong, even with its launch package. »

In particular, Mick Schumacher reassured himself with his first entry in the points. This 8th place could however have become a 7th if the resistance of Max Verstappen had not been so tough. However Günther Steiner understands the cautious attitude of his pilot.

“I’m quite happy with this solid 8th place and I’m not upset that we didn’t get seventh place. Mick fought for it, but he fought against one of the best, if not the best for this position. In the end, he brought his first points, which is very good. »

In Austria this weekend at the Red Bull Ring, what is Günther Steiner aiming for? Another double finish in the points?

“It would be nice to have a few more points, but as I said before, I don’t want it to seem that when we don’t score we are upset, that’s not true. The middle of the grid is very tight this year and every race someone else can get into the points. We have to have a flawless weekend to get into the points because our competitors are strong. Obviously we will fight for the points, but if they don’t come there is a race two weeks later in France where we can score points. I think we can potentially score points in each of the races. »

Steiner finally said a word about the crashes of Guanyu Zhou and Alexander Albon during the last Grand Prix. Like others, he admits having changed his mind about the halo.

“When the halo was proposed, I wouldn’t say I was skeptical. I knew what I knew, and I said yes, we can do without it, etc. but now I have to admit, how can we do without it now…? The halo helped a lot, not just Zhou in the last race but in a lot of crashes in F2, F3, F1, everywhere. If you say we do without the halo device, that would be like saying we do without helmets or the HANS device. It’s just part of the safety of Formula 1 cars. »

“Obviously we have to congratulate the FIA ​​who introduced it and lobbied very hard even though some of us were against it. It is a very good device and it is now part of our technical regulations. »