Home race falls well short of expectations for Haas

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It wasn't the home race the Haas F1 Team was hoping for, with both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen finishing well outside the points on Sunday.

Gene Haas' outfit carried the star spangled banner all weekend, but start to finish it was complicated three days as the team's VF-17 failed to perform its duty in F1's mid-field battle.

"Obviously, a tough weekend for the whole team," admitted team boss Guenther Steiner.

"We were just not fast enough. We had every issue you can have. I think it went over the whole weekend, but today we had hoped to get something back and we didn’t.

"We regroup, try to get better and get back to where we were a few races ago."

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Grosjean struggled on Sunday with tyre degradation, to the point where he almost parked it before reaching the checkered flag in 14th position.

"Not much pace in the car, and massive tire degradation on my front-left tire. I was trying to hang in there, but the last few laps I felt it was pretty dangerous," said the Frenchman.

"Off track the weekend’s been great with the fans. I’m very sorry we couldn’t put on a better show from the team. We’re all going to work hard.

"We know Mexico was tough on us last year but, hopefully, we find some solutions. We’re going to work hard, but right now it’s disappointing not to put on a better show at home."

Kevin Magnussen believed his car was actually better in race trim than in qualifying. A racing incident with Sauber's Marcus Ericsson dropped the Dane the 16th where he would remain for the rest of the afternoon.

"Not the best day for us, but the car was actually better from qualifying," he said.

"We just had to pit at the first lap, so our tires – we tried to do the whole race on softs, but not quite possible.

"We had to try. It was the only thing we could try in that situation. So, onto the next one."

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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.