An untapped potential for Haas
A lot was expected from Haas for its first F1 qualification. While the final result is disappointing (Romain Grosjean is 19th, Esteban Gutierrez 20th), the drivers showed very interesting potential in their single-seaters.
The moment of truth had finally arrived for Haas and its drivers. After a winter spent wondering what level this Ferrari B could reach, we got a first glimpse… even if it doesn’t show on the timing sheet, due to the new qualifying system.
Indeed, both drivers were successively eliminated while they were clearly improving in their last flying lap. Romain Grosjean could only be frustrated at the end of this qualifying session: « I was having a good lap and all of a sudden, I was eliminated. I couldn’t even finish my lap. It’s annoying because the car is good, our base is solid. In terms of performance, we could have clearly advanced. We just lost time during the tire changes in the garage, which set us back. »
Same sentiment on the other side of the garage, which had suffered the same disappointment 90 seconds earlier: « *It was a bit frustrating not to see our lap time on the timing sheet. But we know the potential is there.* »
Günther Steiner, the team director, could only be satisfied while being disappointed: « I think I have never been happy and unhappy at the same time. Today, we showed the potential of the car but we couldn’t demonstrate it because we made some mistakes when we went out. Our first lap didn’t go through and when we went out again, we were missing a few seconds. »
If the points still seem a bit out of reach, the team can be satisfied with not being last and even being able to look ahead…
