Haas beating Grosjean's pre-season expectations
Romain Grosjean says Haas is performing above his own pre-season expectations for the team through the 2018 Formula 1 season as it bids to finish fourth in the constructors' championship in only its third year in the sport.
Through the opening 14 rounds of the current season, Haas has already scored as many points as it managed in its first two years in F1 combined, putting the team on course for a top-five finish in the teams' standings.
Romain Grosjean says Haas is performing above his own pre-season expectations for the team through the 2018 Formula 1 season as it bids to finish fourth in the constructors' championship in only its third year in the sport.
Through the opening 14 rounds of the current season, Haas has already scored as many points as it managed in its first two years in F1 combined, putting the team on course for a top-five finish in the teams' standings.
Haas had been set to rise to fourth place after Grosjean finished sixth in the Italian Grand Prix eight days ago, only for the Frenchman's car to be disqualified due to an illegal part.
Nevertheless, to sit just 10 points shy of P4 in the constructors' championship is seeing Haas outperform Grosjean's own pre-season expectations and hopes.
"The team is performing very well. It’s improving a lot year after year and race after race," Grosjean said. "We’ve got a great car everywhere. We can look forward positively to the end of the season.
"I was thinking we could try to go for fifth in the constructors’ championship, but fighting for fourth and having a good chance to go for it is better than I was expecting. I’m very happy with that.”
Grosjean bounced back from a difficult start to the year that saw him fail to score any points in the opening eight rounds to pick up 27 points in the last six races, with a change in approach aiding his upturn in form.
“I’ve worked on myself to understand why things were not going right before. The car is giving me a better feeling, as well," Grosjean said.
"I’m enjoying my time, and I’m hoping there will be more and it keeps going.”
Haas F1 team boss Gunther Steiner also noted the improvement in Grosjean, but said he could not pin down what had sparked the turnaround in form.
"If I would’ve known that, I would’ve made it happen earlier," Steiner said.
"I think he’s focusing really hard on it. He knows our expectations of him. Just by focusing and concentrating on what to do, I think that has helped him."
