Romain Grosjean believes that Monaco represented a significant milestone in Haas F1's growth within Formula 1.
The team has only competed in 27 Grand Prix races since joining the grid at the start of 2016. It succeeded in getting both cars into the top ten in the last race, which Grosjean sees as a major achievement.
"It was not maybe the place we expected to get both cars into the top ten, but we did it," said Grosjean, who finished the race in eighth position. His team mate Kevin Magnussen was tenth,
"It shows that the team is now capable of finding the right setup, the right strategy and going for it," Grosjean pointed out. "It was a big achievement.
"I think it’s as big as our first Q3 appearance, or our first points, and I’m very happy with that," he added.
"It’s pretty hard to get [into the top ten]," he explained. "There are races where, like in Barcelona, there were a lot of cars crashing out like a Mercedes, a Ferrari, a Williams, which makes it easier. But we didn’t manage to get as high as we wanted.
"We haven’t always had the luck we needed but, eventually, Monaco came," he continued. "In Monaco, there was nothing happening at the front. It was really difficult to follow the guys. For the smaller teams, as we are in the midfield, it’s pretty tricky as there aren’t many spots to go for.”
Grosjean said that he hoped the lessons that Haas had learned in Monaco would benefit them in the next two races. Like Monaco, both Montreal and Baku are run on temporary street circuits.
"There are a few things we can take, a few setup items we’ve tried," he confirmed. "Hopefully, we can make a good package.
"Canada is, of course, much faster than Monaco. It’s a city circuit, but very different from Monaco. You run less downforce because of the long straights. Mechanically, I think there are a few things we can carry over.
"We’ll be working on our brakes. It’s not our number one strength, but we’re getting better.
For Canada, you need to know that when you hit the pedal, you’re going to get 100 percent of what you want. You don’t want a different feel from your demand. That’s what we need to work on.
"For the race, let’s see which cooling we can run. Worst case scenario – we have to do a bit of lift-and-coast to manage them."
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Gallery: All the pictures from Sunday in Monaco
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