Guenther Steiner has bemoaned the fact Haas needs “perfection” in F1 this season if it is to score a point.
That proved to be the case in Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix in which Kevin Magnussen managed to finish 10th in a race in which all 20 cars saw the chequered flag.
It further underlined the attrition of modern F1 cars, with races such as those in Australia in which there were multiple incidents and only 12 finishers which are the rare exceptions.
Steiner recognises that when the cars from the four leading teams this season in Red Bull, Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Ferrari, all finish, it leaves Haas drivers Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg fighting over the scraps.
“Getting a point is very difficult,” said Steiner. “From five races we have scored points three times, which is not bad. It’s just if everybody finishes it’s tough to get points this year.
“When we qualify in the top 10 we can bring home some points. But if everybody finishes like Miami, it’s very difficult.
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“We know are doing pretty good, from where we were last year to this year, but it needs everything to be perfection, and you need to get a little bit lucky. Otherwise, it’s difficult to get points.
“In the end, we did get a point and that will help us this year. Every little bit we can have, we take it home, leaving nothing on the road.
“As much as we want more, we need to be happy with what we’ve got.”
Steiner confirms more updates due
The bonus for Steiner was that the introduction of a new floor onto the VF-23 “seems to be working”, providing his team with a platform on which to add further updates.
Highlighting a concern, however, he added: “We just need to find out what we need to do to be more stable in traffic, that we’re not wearing out the tyres as much in traffic.
“The guys (Magnussen and Hulkenberg) say that in traffic they can see other cars are not struggling as much as our car, so it’s something we have to work on in the aero department.”
Looking ahead to the start of the European season, with a triple-header that incorporates Imola, Monaco, and Barcelona, he added: “We will have some parts for Imola, some front-wing flaps, not a complete wing, and they will keep on coming.”
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola runs from May 19-21.
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