Haas improvements for 2018 focused on aerodynamics - Steiner

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner believes his team's biggest improvement next year must be on the aerodynamic front.

The US outfit performed at a reasonably good level for its second season of Grand Prix racing, with improved consistency and performance.

Haas is targeting further progress in 2018, with a focus on aerodynamics, an area of relative weakness in 2017.

"In aerodynamic development we have to do more," Steiner said.

"We stopped very early and now with hindsight you would say why did we not develop this car enough but hopefully we have the upside of that one next year when we started earlier. We don't know yet.

• Haas puts expansion plans on the back-burner

"I think aerodynamically our development stopped very early and I think that's where we need to find the biggest gain.

"If we improve aero, the tyres work better so it’s an upwards spiral, not a downwards spiral so hopefully we can get there.

Haas boosted its staff over the past year, but Steiner also said recently that the team was holding off on any substantial expansion plans until it gets clarity on a tentative proposal by Formula 1 to introduce a budget cap.

"We started to get people in last year and there is more coming now," adds the Austrian manager.

"There are more as well as last year when we started. Our aero development should be better and consistent."

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