Steiner ‘quite confident’ for 2020 after late Haas gains

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner says he is “quite confident” about Haas’ chances for the 2020 Formula 1 season after making late progress with its tricky 2019 challenger.

The American squad endured a frustrating campaign as it struggled to get to grips with its VF19 car, with drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen hampered by tyre-related performance issues throughout much of the year.

After trailing different-spec cars in a bid to find a solution to its problems, Haas finally began to make some progress in the final rounds of the season with small improvements, as Grosjean ran a pre-season floor at the Abu Dhabi finale.

“We know a lot of stuff for next year already and that was a part of it ,and it proves there is progress being made, it proves it,” Steiner said.

“We didn’t have enough time to evaluate more, and get more data, because the more you’ve got the better it is.

“But it was in that direction that we brought this floor back because we modified a bit more after Austin and that was the reason to bring it back to make sure in the right direction, that’s why I’m quite confident for next year.”

Grosjean said he was looking forward to getting rid of Haas’ 2019 car after failing to make it out of Q1 at Yas Marina, adding it “won’t go into a museum”. The Frenchman was more upbeat following the final race of the season.

Haas ultimately ended the year ninth in the constructors’ standings, having managed just 28 points across 2019.