Haas: More people in the middle of the field this season

While F1 set down in the Middle Kingdom to celebrate the 1000th Grand Prix in its rich history, the fight for places of honor behind the trio Mercedes-Ferrari-Red Bull promises to be more intense than ever. 

At the heart of this fight, Haas hopes to do better than the 5th place obtained in the Manufacturers' ranking last year and is aiming for the honorary title of "best of the others", which currently occupies Alfa Romeo thanks to the consistency of Kimi Räikkönen. 

The American team seemed to have the fastest car in the middle of the field in Australia but its main team admits that it lost its way in terms of tire management in Bahrain. Despite a very good performance in qualifying, where Kevin Magnussen et Romain Grosjean were 6th and 8th, Haas left the Middle East empty-handed. 

« We lost pace in the race in Sakhir, confided Steiner from the Shanghai paddock. We studied the problem during the post-Grand Prix tests and we realized that we managed the tires poorly. They were no longer functioning optimally after just a few laps and the pace collapsed. 

In Bahrain, if you fall within the right operating window, you can be very fast, like Toro Rosso last year, or very slow like we were this season. We went in the wrong direction when most of our competitors were right ». 

The Italian manager is reasonably optimistic about Haas' chances in China this weekend but acknowledges his team cannot afford to waste chances as they did so often last year, as well as in Melbourne with the Grosjean missed pit stop. 

« I don't see why we wouldn't be involved, added Steiner. We made a mistake in Bahrain and we have no intention of making it again. We were fast in qualifying so the car has no problems. But I prefer to be careful because after this kind of race, you don't tend to build up confidence. I can't be arrogant or too positive. 

I don't think the middle of the grid is any tighter than last year. There are just more teams. The leading team in this area of ​​the ranking will vary from one circuit to another. There is no clear leader. I'm not very happy with our position because we should have more points than currently but no one has really stood out yet ». 

If Haas manages to flush out the black cat of Romain Grosjean, also the victim of a first-round collision in Bahrain, it could already increase its chances of increasing its fortnightly harvests.