After deciding not to develop its 2021 car to put its entire focus on F1’s new set of technical regulations in 2022, Haas has struggled for pace this season, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin usually languishing on the last row of the grid.
On Saturday, a Haas car managed to progress to Q2 in qualifying for the first time this season, courtesy of Mick Schumacher’s 14th place in Q1.
Beyond that obvious breakthrough and Schumacher’s performance itself, team boss Steiner pointed out that his race team delivered the perfect strategy and execution to get there, giving him confidence that his crew is ready to score points when it gets a better car.
“Yeah, that was my personal greatest satisfaction, to see how the team executed,” Steiner replied when asked about how reassuring it is to see Haas’ race weekend management.
“We are ready for next year, you know. We are fine. Yeah, we will make mistakes as well, but there was a chance there, and it was working as [if] they have worked together since three or five years.
“Mick was very calm, his race engineer did a great job, always staying calm. Especially having Ayao [Komatsu] working as standing in for Nikita [Mazepin’s] race engineer, so there was no Chief Race Engineer there.
“And they all did a good job, everybody did what they needed to do, the mechanics.”
“That’s what made me happy, because now we are ready. If we’ll get a better car, the race team is ready to get some points.”
Nikita Mazepin, Haas VF-21, Mick Schumacher, Haas VF-21
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Contact with Fernando Alonso in Sunday’s wet race meant any hope of points vanished on the first lap for Schumacher, finishing 19th only ahead of teammate Mazepin.
But Steiner argued the Q2 spot was a rare reward for his crew, after its steady slide towards the back of the grid over the past three years.
“I’m very happy for the team to be honest, because they all work hard all the time to get everything out,” he explained.
“I see what they are doing and there is no result in the end, and, you know, I almost feel bad about that, but I’m very happy for them because I know the effort they put into it.
“Maybe three years ago we were unhappy not going into Q3, now we are happy to get out of Q1. It’s a different thing, but the guys, just a little bit of success carries them forward.
“Everything was done good, and it shows that you just have to keep on going, working hard, and things will come to us.”