Haas expecting to put itself back on track in France

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Haas' Guenther Steiner is confident the US outfit will return to its early season form in France next weekend after racing outside of the points in Monaco and Montreal.

Both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean put Haas in contention for the title of 'best of rest' in Formula 1's mid-field before missed opportunities, set-up issues and mishaps sent the team down the order in the last two races.

But Steiner is hopeful Haas will be a force to be reckoned with in the mid-field at Paul Ricard, thanks to a few tweaks and upgrades associated with its VF-18, and to a venue that should suit the latter.

"Everybody points to that direction that our car is best on these kinds of tracks, like Barcelona, Austria and France. Let’s see what we can do," said Steiner.

"We are all very confident to getting back to a good form. In Canada, Romain was very fast but, unfortunately, he had to start last, and that’s never good.

"We are all very confident we can have good results in the next three races."

Steiner: Haas upgrades are 'positive' despite lack of points

Before the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks ago, Steiner warned his drivers that there would be no margin for error as the team lacked spare parts.

F1's busy schedule - marked by three consecutive races - has kept inventory relatively tight, and Grosjean and Magnussen will once again do their bets to stay out of trouble.

"We’re actually not in a bad place [with regards spares]," said Steiner.

"We’re still tight, because with three races in three weeks, you just cannot catch up with producing parts should we have some damages.

"Luckily, we didn’t have any big damage in Canada, except the nose which was damaged by the groundhog. Otherwise, we got away pretty good," he added.

"We should have more spares for France and, hopefully, we don’t have any accidents there or in Austria. That will bring us up to a normal quantity of spare parts after the stretch of three races."

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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.