Haas admits 'Formula 1 honeymoon is over'

The Haas F1 Team made its Formula 1 début a little over 16 months ago, and team owner Gene Haas admits that any honeymoon period in the sport that there might have been is now well and truly over.

He explained that it's now all about the day-to-day hard graft needed to ensure the team makes a success of itself.

"I would say the honeymoon is over - now comes the tricky part of living together," he told the official Formula 1 website this week.

"Formula 1 is a challenge, it is not easy," he said. "Coming to a race every second weekend and seeing opportunities slipping away, you know that you have to work harder to achieve what you want."

"Racing at this level is not easy. Your competitors are always as good if not better than you are," Haas admitted.

"You have to look at strategies. Look at what you are capable of and what they are capable of. And try to find differences that give you a chance to take advantage of that."

On top of this, the team is trying to be competitive despite a smaller budget than its rivals. "I think our budget is at the low end of all the teams," Haas admitted. "It might not be the lowest out there, but sure it's not far off."

Part of the cost saving is down to a close technical partnership with Ferrari.

"It would cost us more if we had to develop our car on our own," Haas agreed. "As opposed to our leaner business model, which basically translates into: if we don’t have to make it, we won’t."

• Haas to retain Grosjean and Magnussen in 2018

Nevertheless Haas has no doubts about his original decision to enter the championship.

"It's fantastic to see how enthusiastic our customers are about our F1 engagement," he said. "For them, we are no longer a simple machine tool builder. Our customer perceives us now as part of Formula 1.

"That is translating over to the image of Haas Automation. We are a lifestyle company now!"

The American businessman is also clearly pleased with the progress of his current drivers, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. This week he stated his intention to retain the same line-up in 2018.

Team principal Guenther Steiner concurs with this view - and emphasised that whatever the decision, it will be the team's to make.

"We are waiting a few more races, but we have control of our drivers," Steiner told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet this week.

He was keen to dispel rumours that Ferrari were calling the shots and wanted Antonio Giovinazzi and Charles Leclerc to be given a shot at a race seat.

Steiner also wanted to downplay speculation of friction between the team and Grosjean. The French driver has been critical over the team radio at recent events about recurring brake issues.

"Romain is sometimes criticised for how he gives his feedback during practice,” Steiner admitted. “We are okay with this because he helps us grow as a team. As long as it does not get personal."

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