Haas came very close to bending the saplings at the end of 2020

The youngest team on the grid almost did not return in 2021. In any case, this is what its main team, the truculent Guenther Steiner, said this Thursday. 

After a remarkable debut in 2016 in the premier category and constant progression up to 5th place in the Manufacturers ranking in 2018, Haas has since experienced a brutal fall in the world hierarchy. 

Faced with this lack of performance and loss of income F1 associated, to which were added the effects of the Covid-19 crisis, the future of the American team seemed to be written in dotted lines before Gene Haas ratified during the summer the new Condorde Agreements which theoretically commit the eponymous team until 2025.

As the season enters its final stretch, Steiner admitted from Bahrain that he was not too unhappy to see the end of this new difficult campaign. The Italian, however, praised the spirit of resilience of his troops. 

« We survived, this is what we managed to do this season, replied Steiner when asked to take stock of the year. I won't say much more. I think there was a good chance we wouldn't be there anymore. Everyone pushed in the same direction and stuck together, and we left to stay. 

Perhaps the results on the track are not brilliant but the future of the team is assured. It's a good thing for Haas but also for F1 because the sport needs teams like ours ».

• The emotion of Grosjean

These doubts about the future of the US team, Romain Grosjean had mentioned them earlier in the season, which had earned him a volley of green wood from his boss. 

« I heard it was difficult, confided the French pilot to representatives of the French press. He told me he didn't know if he would be there next year at a dinner in Budapest. 

I mentioned it at a press conference and behind it someone smacked me in the face and told me that it was better for me to mind my own business. Finally I told the truth since it's coming out now (laughs).” 

Unlike Steiner, Grosjean would like to extend the F1 adventure for a few more weeks. The man with 10 podiums in Grands Prix admits that he had a little pang in his heart when he flew to the Persian Gulf and the last triplet of his time in Grands Prix. 

« When I said Goodbye to my children for 3 weeks, I knew it was for my last F1 trip so I told them to watch the races and shout “Come on Dad! ", confided a visibly moved Grosjean.