Grosjean frustrated by qualifying

Haas drivers F1 Team may have had the potential to advance to Q2 in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, but the team's lack of experience worked against them. Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez.

The former Lotus driver was only able to secure 19th position on the Melbourne grid behind Daniil Kvyat after being eliminated by the new qualifying format. “I was on a good lap and suddenly I was eliminated, I didn’t even have the chance to finish my lap”, regrets the Frenchman. “It’s annoying because the car was good and we could clearly do better. We just lacked speed in the pits (when changing tires). »

“It’s one of the races where the priority is to finish. This is what Gene (Haas, the team owner) wants. From there, anything is possible”, recalls the former GP2 champion.

His teammate Esteban Gutiérrez did not do better since he will start behind the Frenchman. “It’s a little frustrating not to see the results reflect our times, but we know the potential is there. The positive thing is that we know the times were good enough to get a better place on the grid”, positive the Mexican.

Haas F1 Team Team Principal Günther Steiner has mixed feelings after his team's first qualifying session. “This day allowed us to see the potential of car, but we couldn't exploit it because we made some mistakes... It was a challenge to be ready here, but we didn't miss everything. »