Zero points for Haas in Australia

The years go by and are not the same: last year, no one expected Haas, and the team surprised the paddock with a magnificent 6th place finish. This year, the American team was under scrutiny but left Australia empty-handed due to unreliable performance.

Romain Grosjean, retirement

If Romain Grosjean delivered a very strong performance during qualifying, securing the best grid position in the young history of the team, the Frenchman couldn’t convert it into significant points. He had already lost a position at the start, to the benefit of Felipe Massa: « The start wasn’t ideal. So we need to improve that. I feel I was faster than the Williams. Therefore, there is huge potential for the car. »

But if performance is not the issue, it’s on the reliability side that things falter since he was forced to retire due to a water leak in his engine: « I suddenly lost a lot of power. I told the guys and then had to slow down. It’s disappointing but right now I’m still emotional. We are all disappointed to lose a seventh place. »

Oh dear…. 😭

— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) 26 mars 2017

He therefore hopes to be able to unlock his points tally in the next race, in Shanghai.

Kevin Magnussen, retirement

Reliability also failed the team’s other driver, Kevin Magnussen. For the Dane, it was his suspension that couldn’t withstand the strain imposed by the streets of Albert Park. He was therefore forced to leave his Haas at the side of the track.

But his race had already been severely compromised as early as the third corner when he hit Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber: « I had contact in the third corner. I had Ericsson on the outside and I understeered into his side, which is unfortunate. I lost my front wing and damaged the car a bit. We changed the front wing. »

The race then turned into a long testing session as the chances of significant results had vanished: « I then went back out for a long testing session to feel the car and learn more, which is a good thing. »