“The drivers are drinking from a water hose”– Haas this year has been relying on an all-rookie lineup with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.
Haas played a gamble this year to prevent its liquidation in 2021 by signing two rookie drivers- Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher, who reportedly brought significant financial aid.
However, on track, things for Haas has gone worse, as it has now been relegated as the slowest team on the grid. Observing this, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner feels his drivers are overwhelmed.
“We just got the rain and had to deal with it and learn from it,” Steiner said. “The drivers are drinking from a water hose at the moment; every Grand Prix is bringing something new up.
“For learning it’s ideal, just learning things like the processes and how to behave in these situations. Once you’ve done these things once, the second time – for sure, it brings a lot less stress I would say.”
“Do you want it all at the beginning – maybe not, but if it comes, you take the experience. I think it’s a good thing all these new experiences.”
Haas will not change its strategy.
Going into the first double-header of the season, as F1 will host back to back Grand Prix in Portugal and Spain, Haas has revealed that it will not change its action plan despite its recent debacles.
“Nothing different from the first two races – get as much experience as possible, get both drivers to the finish in both races, keep learning and increase their race knowledge in Formula 1,” he said.
“The target has not changed; we just keep our heads down and learn as much as possible,” concluded Steiner. Haas has openly claimed that it’s focusing on 2022, so they haven’t used any tokens for 2021. So does it mean the end of Williams’ predicament finally?