Haas storms to best F1 result as Grosjean ends point-less streak

The Haas Formula 1 team was in a celebratory mood after recording its best-ever result in its 50th race as Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen finished fourth and fifth respectively in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

Haas had twice before finished a race fifth - Grosjean at Bahrain 2016; Magnussen at Bahrain 2018 - but was able to go one better and record not only its best finish through Grosjean in fourth, but also pick up its biggest score in a grand prix weekend as Magnussen followed closely home in P5.

Grosjean started fifth at the Red Bull Ring, and while he was unable to prevent Sebastian Vettel from passing early on, the Frenchman had a straightforward race that saw him pit under the Virtual Safety Car before benefitting from late retirements for Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel to finish fourth.

Teammate Magnussen was forced to stay out longer before pitting, but made a one-stop strategy work to finish the race in fifth position, 10 seconds clear of Force India's Esteban Ocon in sixth.

"Everybody realised the potential the car has got, but we just didn’t turn it into enough points. This time, we scored," team boss Günther Steiner said after the race.

"We were lucky this time, by two dropping out or three dropping out in front of us so to finish fourth and fifth. In the end, the car showed it was the best of the rest today, dominating that position. Everyone slowed down a bit at the end with the tyres, everyone was getting scared having a problem with it. Everybody executed very good the whole weekend, and we didn’t have issues.

"This was a good weekend, not just a good race or a lucky race. Good executions and the luck was the three in front of us went out. Otherwise we would have been seventh and eighth."

The result was particularly poignant for Grosjean, who managed to end a run without points dating back to last October's Japanese Grand Prix and get off the mark for the season in P4. It also marked his best result in a race since he finished third for Lotus at the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix.

"The car's been quick since the first day on pretty much every circuit, apart from Monaco. So it's a really, really good step from the past," Grosjean said.

"The team is getting better and better. For our 50th race to finish fourth and fifth is incredible.

"With all the punches I've received, it feels good, standing on my feet all the time was good, and I'm pretty proud of being here today. We knew that we could do it together."

Magnussen added: "It feels great. I am so proud of the team. It’s such a great day for the team. We had a tough weekend in Australia and today it feels a little bit like justice.

"We started P8 and then we had the Virtual Safety Car, and after that I lost a lot of positions because people pitted under the Virtual Safety Car so I had to overtake quite a few people after that but I had a good car.

"I was so much faster than the guys I was catching and I was able to get past, and get this result. It’s a really good."

The result lifted Haas two positions to fifth in the constructors' championship, leapfrogging Force India and McLaren, with the American team now sitting just 13 points back from Renault in fourth.