Just two weeks after their Formula One debut in Australia, the Haas F1 Team has managed to bring home more points in Bahrain. With a fifth place finish from Romain Grosjean, he picks up ten more points towards the World Drivers’ Championship.
In Australia, Haas made their Formula One debut. It was there where they scored their first points in Formula One. With a sixth place finish from Grosjean, he earned eight championship points for the team. This put the team into fifth position in the World Constructors’ Championship going into the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Romain Grosjean was ecstatic as he summarized the team’s day:
“This is the American dream. It is unbelievable. I said we had to manage our expectations after we finished sixth in Australia, but here we finished fifth. There’s still a lot of things we can do better, from pit stops to the setup of the car and so on but, for now, this one is for the guys. I looked at their faces last night and they were all very tired because of the amount of work we’re doing. This is a massive reward. Really, just unbelievable. In the race, I had a good feeling in the car. It was an aggressive strategy, but managing tires has always been my strength in the past. Knowing we had a softer compound for this racetrack was something I liked. The car was set up well for the supersoft tires and I had a fantastic race. The car has a very good baseline. Everything is working well. I don’t think I’ve ever been as high as fifth in the driver standings. This is the first time in my career, I can’t believe it.”
Grosjean managed to better his previous result, finishing in the top five at the Bahrain International Circuit. This gives the team an additional ten points toward the World Constructors’ Championship. This time, the team didn’t even have a red flag that could help them with a free pitstop.
On the other side of the Haas F1 Team garage, things were not as positive for Esteban Gutiérrez. He was unable to complete the race distance, although not in the same dramatic fashion that we witnessed in Australia. Gutiérrez parked his car in the garage early in the race, meaning that he has still not completed a race since he has returned to Formula One. The retirement was due to some issues with the left-front brake.
“Our aim now for China is to get two cars to the finish and to finish in the points,” explained Guenther Steiner, the Haas F1 Team Principal. “We’ve done a few pit stops, which gives us a lot of confidence. We can’t wait to go to the next race and to try and keep this form going.”
Weekend Summary: 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix
Haas Scores Points On Debut
