Haas relieved early issues were in test, not first F1 race

Guenther Steiner says pre-season testing was the right period for Haas F1 Team to suffer teething troubles, and hopes the US newcomers will have a smooth grand prix debut in Australia.

While Haas enjoyed a promising first test in Barcelona, the F1 rookies then experienced a series of hindrances – from a fuel system problem to issues with the turbo and brake-by-wire system –, which dampened the initial enthusiasm.

Steiner would rather focus on the positives and is confident these early hitches have been ironed out ahead of Melbourne.

“That’s what testing is for,” the Haas team principal said. “The good thing is, we had a front wing failure on the very first day and we fixed it within hours and were out on the track again. We had a problem with the brake-by-wire system, but our guys fixed it overnight.

“We had an electronics issue and had to work through the night to fix it. You’re never happy when you don’t go on the track, but we always found fixes to our problems, and Barcelona was the place to do it. We don’t want that in Australia.”

Having repeatedly declared over the winter that Haas was targeting points for its maiden race, Steiner has eventually set slightly lower objectives for drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez.

“Our goal is to have both cars finish, to show that we can compete and be proud of what we are doing.”

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