Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says placing two cars in the final part of qualifying in Suzuka “means as much” as scoring points on the team’s Formula One debut with sixth in Melbourne.
Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez made it both into Q3 in Suzuka, a first for the American outfit this year. And while Haas failed to convert its strong qualifying into points, Steiner thinks the achievement should not be belittled.
“In F1, getting into Q3 – it’s one of the things you need to do on speed,” he said. “You don’t get lucky to get in there. In the race there are other circumstances, but on a one-time lap you need to be fast.
“For me, it means as much as achieving points at the first race in Australia. To get both cars into Q3 is fantastic and I think everyone on the team would agree. I wouldn’t say we were surprised because we felt like we were very good. We got it done. It was a fantastic moment.”
After a dream start to life in F1 with points in three of the first four races, Haas has experienced an up-and-down maiden campaign though the US team has always remained on the cusp of the top 10, as highlighted by seven 11th-place finishes.
“The midfield is so close,” Steiner offered in response. “Sometimes we are ahead in the midfield, like we were in Japan. We were almost on par on a single lap with Force India and faster than Williams and McLaren. But then sometimes we are a little bit at the tail end. It’s very close in that region.
“Whatever you do you need a little bit of luck and you need additional luck for a good performance to get in the points. We take away that it is our first season and sometimes we are doing more than is expected of us.”
TECHNICAL - Turbulent Jet Ignition: In the antechamber of F1 power
FEATURE: Where and why has Williams been caught out
F1i Classic - Masten Gregory - The 'Kansas City flash'
Silbermann investigates the potential EU threat to F1's Liberty Media deal
2017 F1 driver line-ups so far
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Sergio Perez has revisited one of the most extraordinary off-track stories of his Formula 1…
Formula 1’s return to Spa-Francorchamps this weekend will introduce a striking new element to the…
McLaren will arrive at the Belgian Grand Prix with a fresh opportunity to reset its…
On this day in 2001 at the British GP at Silverstone, Formula 1 fans were…
The Silverstone pitlane has borne witness to countless moments of motorsport history, but recently, it…
McLaren’s search for answers in Formula 1 has once again turned the spotlight onto its…