Haas F1 is preparing for the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix and team boss Günther Steiner stressed that his main concern at the moment is the extremely warm weather conditions.
Q: Of the previous two consecutive races, the Singapore Grand Prix was the most successful, with both Haas cars qualifying for the qualifying final on Saturday and Kevin Magnussen finishing in the top ten on Sunday, earning a very important point for 10th place. To what extent was this achieved thanks to the right psychological attitude of the team, ready to seize any opportunity that presented itself?
Günther Steiner: We know the VF-23, we know it’s not performing well in racing right now, and everyone at Haas understands that. As always, the team is doing everything it can to take advantage of all the opportunities that arise, and this is the attitude of the entire team, from the riders to the mechanics and engineers.
For example, in all the last races we made very good pit stops. The team is to be commended for continuing to work with good fighting spirit and having no doubt that the situation will improve in the future.
Q: But at the Japanese Grand Prix we had to return to reality, where the chassis’ weaknesses were fully exposed. How do you personally deal with emotions when the results can be so different per weekend?
Günther Steiner: It’s very simple: you always have to look ahead and know what actions the team is taking. We are working hard to get out of this hole, that is what motivates me every day. I wouldn’t be running Haas F1 if I didn’t know that we continue to work, make improvements and gradually get closer to the level we want to reach and perform.
Question: This weekend Formula 1 makes its second visit to Qatar, and the debut Grand Prix was held at this circuit in November 2021. What impression did this track make on you at the time and what can you expect from the upcoming stage?
Günther Steiner: When we first arrived in Losail in 2021, I would say it felt like everything was done at the last minute. We were very warmly welcomed in Qatar and the race went well. I remember the pits being a bit tight there, but that’s because they were built with motorcycle racing in mind, but since then the track infrastructure has been modernized and now everything looks good.
I remember there were problems due to the fact that the bottom of the cars on the curb were damaged, but we’ll see how everything turns out this time. So far I’m only worried about temperatures being too high, approaching 40 degrees, but the race is in the evening, so everything should be fine.
Q: The team is working intensively on a series of updates that will be presented during the US Grand Prix in Austin. Can you tell us how the process works? How difficult is it to introduce new products at this stage of the season?
Günther Steiner: Everything is on schedule and must be ready on time. Everyone in the team works harmoniously to perform their tasks – the delivery department worked around the clock to ensure that we received everything we needed on time based on the documentation from the design department – in short, the company works as it needs work.
We don’t know how effective the new products will be, but we hope they will perform well. But the most important thing is that we are moving in the right direction in which we want to develop next year, and now we can get a lot of information that will be useful for us next season.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
