After two days of winter testing, Haas seems more competitive than last year, but Romain Grosjean does not want to get ahead of himself. The team wants to take a step back and avoid repeating the same mistakes as in 2019.
“Last year we tried to be fast from the start of testing by finding performance,” explains Romain Grosjean. “But it didn’t work. This year we’re taking a different approach by driving and accumulating kilometers. Then as problems arise, we’re trying to fix them.”
The Haas driver continues by giving examples: « Last year, we were trying to get the tires to work at a certain temperature. Once it was good, we tried to achieve the best pit exit lap. »
« We are consulting with Kevin [Magnussen]. It turns out that we are reaching the same conclusions and limitations for now » confides the Franco-Swiss driver.
Grosjean was one of the most diligent on track today with 158 laps. Yesterday, Kevin Magnussen completed 106 laps. The Haas therefore already has nearly 300 laps on its counter without experiencing any breakdowns on the circuit.
However, the team does not have a plan confirms Grosjean: « I don’t know when we will focus on performance. Maybe never here in Barcelona. There is no interest in finding the best setting, especially here, at the moment. Might as well be good during the Grand Prix. We have no specific program. »
The biggest difficulty is finding out which settings lead to which changes on the car. It is this learning phase that Grosjean wants to delve deeper into: « There are so many settings to find and even more this year with the new suspensions. We must find and understand these settings before arriving in Australia. »
