Haas tests brakes, halo, drivers with busy practice planned
Haas team principal Gunther Steiner says his squad is preparing for busy free practice sessions in Brazil with a test with a new brake manufacturer, its first experience with the halo cockpit device and Charles Leclerc receiving an FP1 outing.
Steiner confirmed after the Mexican Grand Prix one of its cars would trial Carbone Industrie brakes after losing patience with Brembo brakes due to a series of failures and inconsistencies in recent races.
It is believed Romain Grosjean will test out the alternative brakes and provide Haas feedback to compare to Brembo before making a decision on its brake suppliers for 2017.
The French driver, who is strongly tipped to be retained by Haas for next season, will also run installation laps with the halo cockpit protection device in his and the team's first experience with the prototype safety device.
On the other side of the garage, Haas development driver Leclerc will jump into Esteban Gutierrez's car for FP1 for his fourth outing of the year after running at Silverstone, Hungaroring and Hockenheim.
With an intensive scheduled planned, Steiner has stressed the importance of trouble-free running throughout every session as the team is also making its debut at Interlagos as it nears the end of the maiden F1 campaign.
"We have a lot of work to do so we need to be focused and, hopefully, we don't have any issues - any mechanical or any electronic issues with the car so we can have a good FP1 to FP3 and be ready for qualifying," Steiner said. "What we want to avoid is another bad weekend like in Mexico."
FEATURE: Boy Racers! Top 10 youngest drivers in F1
Haas has endured a difficult second half of the season due to a variety of mechanical and performance issues with just one points finish, Grosjean's 10th place in Austin, since Silverstone.
Despite this, Haas still holds a useful points advantage over nearest rivals Renault in the F1 world constructors' championship in the tussle for eighth and Steiner hopes for a positive end to the team's first year in the sport to provide momentum going into the off-season and 2017.
"How you finish a season is how you go into the winter break," he said. "If you go up on a high, it's much easier to go through the winter season. So we try to do our best to end with a high.
"I don't think it impacts the team technically. It's more about morale. The morale needs to be kept up. If you go out on a high, you believe in yourself. Otherwise, you have to build it up again. You can always overcome, but it is much easier to go out on a high."
Latest Tweets from Crash.net & GPF1rst
