Haas determined to break 100-point barrier in top five bid

Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner says breaking the 100-point barrier this season will be crucial if the US squad is to secure a top five finish.

The American-based team has made vast improvements to surge up to fifth in the constructors’ standings with just nine races remaining in 2018, sitting 16 points behind Renault and seven points clear of Force India.

While Haas has already recorded its most successful F1 season to date, Steiner insists his outfit needs to recover points it has thrown away due to a number of mistakes that cost the team in the early rounds of the current campaign.

“We need to gain the points which we lost in the first half of the season. That’s our mission – to have the best results at the end of the season,” Steiner explained.

“I think the 100-point barrier should be and will be broken, but still you have to get them. If you want to finish fourth or fifth, you have to break it.”

Aside from some small planned updates set to be introduced in the coming races, Haas is ready to stop development on its 2018 car in order to focus on next season and a tweak to the aerodynamic regulations.

Steiner remains confident Haas will be able to continue its competitiveness throughout the remainder of the season and doubts the summer break will have any negative impact on the team.

“I don’t see why we shouldn’t keep performing like we were before the summer break,” he added. “The good thing is that everybody can have a break. Everybody was tired, and now we come back refreshed and, hopefully, continue like we did before the break.”