Günther Steiner: No decision for 2019 drivers

While Haas F1 Team achieved a second double points finish this year, during the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, the time had come to take stock with Team Principal Günther Steiner. 2019 line-up, performances... the head of the Kannapolis (North Carolina) team answered our questions.

Gene Haas wanted to see his cars evolve in the same second as Ferrari. Halfway through, is the contract fulfilled?

We are fighting for 4th place in the Manufacturers' championship with a factory (Renault. Editor’s note). Climbing into the Top 3 with the current regulations is simply impossible. I think we are the fourth force on the board but we have not scored the points justifying this status. This must be the goal for the second half of the season. Your compatriots will do everything to finish in front so it promises a great fight! Finding yourself fighting with Renault in your third year in F1 is pretty cool, isn't it?

Kevin Magnussen seems, in any case, to flourish more with you than with McLaren or Renault.

Absolutely and we must thank Gene Haas for being able to create this working atmosphere. We know what we need to do and we don't need to have the company's seal of approval. Gene likes to offer people a space of freedom to act and think, as long as they don't do anything stupid. It helps Kevin. We all make mistakes, but no one gets crucified. We learn and we improve.

When choosing your 2019 driver duo, will you take into account Romain's history with the team in addition to his performances this season?

Absolutely. I don't want to talk about the future at the moment because we will study this question after the summer break. We haven't made any decisions. I have a lot of respect for Romain on a human level. Who would have taken the risk of joining us three years ago? He believed in us and our project.

Discover our complete interview with Günther Steiner, in issue 2176 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.