Qualifying leaves Haas boys in command of mid-field pack

©Haas

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Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen put Haas in command of the mid-field in Melbourne with a strong showing in qualifying that yielded a sixth and seventh spot on Sunday's grid.

Haas built on its strong performance in FP3 with both its drivers comfortably making the Q3 cut and Grosjean qualifying as 'best of the rest'.

"It’s been a good day, especially with Kevin up there too," said Grosjean

"The car’s been performing well, on a track that we’ve always been competitive at, so that’s good.

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It’s the first time we’ve really run the full qualifying set-up, so that’s been interesting for us to discover a bit more.

"The car worked well, and we’re pretty much where we thought we were. There are maybe some surprises in the pecking order, but I’m very happy with our day.

"I think our race pace looks as good as we did in qualifying. We’ll keep pushing, keep delivering, and hopefully we’ll score some strong points to start the year."

©Haas

Magnussen rued a slight mistake in Q1 that set him back a set of soft tyres for Q3, but the Dane was otherwise satisfied with his day of running.

"I didn’t quite have the perfect qualifying session on my side, I made a mistake on my first tire in Q1, which meant I had to use another set, leaving me with only one new set for Q3," said Magnussen.

"That’s my bad, but fortunately the car was very good. I’m very proud of the team with what they’ve done to put such a good car on track again this year.
"They did a great job incorporating the new rule changes to allow us to maintain a competitive car.

"We’re not even that far from the guys at the front, we’re not fighting them, but we’re not too far. Hopefully we can build on this tomorrow and score some good points."

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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.