Haas decide who gets upgrade with coin toss - Grosjean loses

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Production delays will limit Haas' aero upgrade package to just one car for Friday's practice and the driver who got it was decided by a coin toss!

Romain Grosjean found himself choosing the wrong side and will therefore have to wait until Saturday morning to benefit from the update while it will be fitted to team mate Kevin Magnussen's car at the outset tomorrow.

"Unfortunately I won't have it [the upgrade] until Saturday and that's not ideal," Grosjean said.

"There's only one available right now and I didn't get it. It was a coin toss – I've never been lucky with that.

"It's not ideal because it's a big change of a lot of things on the car and I don't know what it's going to be like tomorrow for us.

"The problem is you need to set up the car around the new package."

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Team boss Guenther Steiner could not explain why there was a production delay.

"It should have been both cars but the second one was late, so at that stage we had to make a choice and this was the only fair way," Steiner said.

"I don't know the reason why the second upgrade is late. I'm quite aggravated because we wanted to do the two together."

"He can still drive the car, it's not totally different," Steiner added. "The good thing is you can compare the two cars - you can see whether what you are doing is correct or not.

"As one package it is the biggest update we have done so far. I hope we make a big jump, but realistically I expect things to be similar because everyone is updating."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.