Steiner: Podium possible if “all the stars line up” for Haas

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner believes his Formula 1 outfit has the potential to score a podium this season, providing “all the stars line up”. 

The American squad has endured a frustrating start to 2018, despite having one of the strongest packages out of the midfield runners. Haas has been consistently quick but has been unable to secure big results and currently occupies eighth in the constructors’ championship having scored just 11 points.

But Steiner, who recently admitted his team's results are not acting as a true representation of its 2018 car’s potential, is confident Haas could replicate Force India’s podium in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a bit of luck. 

“If all the stars line up, then it’s possible, like in Azerbaijan where it did for Sergio Perez and everything lined up for him and he took the opportunity,” Steiner explained.

“Something like this needs to come up for us to achieve that. Just racing ourselves into a podium will be difficult without other circumstances, like some of the top-three teams dropping out.

“We just need to execute. The car is capable at any track to get into the points. We just need to execute and we need a little bit of luck. As much as I don’t believe in being unlucky, I wouldn’t call us lucky this year.”

Pitstop errors cost a big points haul in Melbourne’s season-opener as both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were forced into retirement while running within the top five, before loose bodywork hampered Grosjean in Bahrain. The Frenchman then crashed out of sixth place under the final Safety Car period in Baku. 

Steiner said Haas has implemented new procedures in a bid to prevent mistakes and improve on its record from the opening four rounds of the season. 

“It’s in all areas, and I think we’re getting a lot better, and that’s our biggest improvement to make this year. In comparison with our competitors, our car is better than the last two years. Every little mistake away from the racecar, on the operations side, has big consequences, as we’ve seen this year. 

“We’re getting better, and how you go about that, the people responsible for it need to understand the responsibility, and we try to work hard to implement new processes and new procedures.”

Steiner believes being more in the spotlight after making significant progress over the winter has exacerbated any errors made by the team. 

“With a better car, you’re more in the spotlight and people see it quicker. If you’re running around 12th and 13th, you’re seen only if you go into the points. Now, when we have a car which can solidly end up in the points, if you’re not in there, you’re just much more visible.”