Despite the team's competitive position, Haas F1 CEO Steiner underlined the necessity of keeping the squad motivated.
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Haas decided not to develop its car for the 2018 model year in order to focus on preparing for the new technical restrictions that will take effect in 2022, believing that they will provide a better opportunity to advance and gain performance. It relegated the team to a transition year in 2021, during which it failed to earn any points with rookie drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, finishing bottom in the constructors’ standings.
In terms of outright pace, Haas came close to lower midfield competitors Alfa Romeo and Williams in the final three races of the season. In both Qatar and Abu Dhabi, Schumacher qualified within two tenths of a second of an Alfa Romeo car, while he was even less than a tenth of a second of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in qualifying for the Saudi Arabia race.
Despite the team’s competitive position, Haas F1 CEO Steiner underlined the necessity of keeping the squad motivated, admitting that the late-season advances on the rest of the midfield shocked him.
“What you have to watch is that people don’t get complacent, get used to it and don’t do their best any more,” Steiner told Motorsport.com.
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“[You have to] tell them that ‘you guys have not gone stupid or bad, it will get better, it’s just our car is not developed’. It’s too simple the answer: if there is one year you don’t do anything, this is where you end up. Then again, in the last two races, I could not believe we were only a tenth or two away from the end of the midfield. I don’t get it with a car that’s almost two years old.”
When asked if the improvements were due in part to his drivers’ increasing expertise, Steiner maintained that the other teams should have developed in 2021 to build a larger gap to Haas.
“The other ones should have made the gap bigger, they developed their cars,” Steiner said.
“The last two races were very odd to me. In Saudi Arabia, where the lap is very long, we were only one and a half tenths behind. And we fought in the race with one of the Williams. Maybe they were going slower? As soon as you can fight for something, it’s a different scenario, a different vibe, a different way of living.”
