Günther Steiner: “We learned to listen to our pilots”

Gene Haas admitted it at the time of the presentation of the Haas VF-20 : “I hope the car will allow us to return to the form we had in 2018 when we finished in 5th place in the Manufacturers’ championship. »

A clearly displayed ambition for the American team which will once again be able to count on the same duo of drivers composed of Romain Grosjean et Kevin Magnussen. Consistency in the Kannapolis (North Carolina) formation which offers a definite advantage according to Team Principal Günther Steiner.

“In general there is good understanding between the two, and there were some hard lessons learned last year in a car that was underperforming, indicates the manager. These lessons learned will be applied this year. »

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Steiner thus refers to the difficulties of operating a VF-19 that is sometimes very efficient, sometimes clearly underperforming. Difficulties that will serve as an experience for Haas F1 Team when evaluating the first performances of the new car this week during the first Catalan runs in Barcelona.

“Last year we had good testing, and the first few races were good, then it got worse, recalls Steiner.

What we've learned is how to see things better and how to better analyze our data to see if we're on the right track or heading in the wrong direction. We also learned to listen to our drivers, that sometimes helps a lot. »

“It’s important to have a good first impression with the car, also underlines Romain Grosjean. You want to feel comfortable in a new car. We are normally quite good at knowing quickly whether the car is good or not.

We also learned a lot from 2019, when testing went well, but the rest of the season didn't. I think the problems were masked by the fact that we were fast in Barcelona at the start of the year.

Then, in some races we were fast but in others not. We will use the tests to cover as many different scenarios as possible. »

The Frenchman will, however, have to wait until Thursday to get a first real idea of ​​the possibilities of his car 2020, Kevin Magnussen starting VF-20 on Wednesday.