Steiner 'more amazed than upset' by Haas' loss of pace

Haas Formula 1 chief Guenther Steiner was left “more amazed than upset” by the team’s loss of pace in Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix as it finished one lap down on the lead runners.

Kevin Magnussen qualified as the leading midfield driver on Saturday, taking P6 on the grid, but slipped back through the race to ultimately finish one lap down on race winner Lewis Hamilton in 13th place.

After qualifying eighth, Romain Grosjean retired early on as a result of accident damage sustained on the opening lap in a clash with Lance Stroll.

Haas boss Steiner said he was baffled by the team’s loss of pace from Saturday to Sunday in Bahrain, and had no obvious explanation in the aftermath of the race.

“I think as unhappy as you are, it’s the beginning of the season. We just don’t know what happened, we have no idea,” Steiner said.

“I actually should be more down, but I’m not even upset because I’m just amazed. More amazed than upset. After having the qualifying we had yesterday, and then ending up with the race and not knowing why the pace was just lost overnight, it’s so weird to have no idea.

“On the good side of things, we can test here on Tuesday and Wednesday, so at least we have got the chance to try to find out what is happening in the test and to get a good picture of it.

“And on the other side nobody overtook us in the points standing, so at least the damage wasn’t too big.”

Steiner joked that Grosjean’s early retirement was “a blessing”, saying: “It is quite painful sitting and watching a car like this. It’s a long time.

“It was clear at the apex and the other one just understeered into him. In the end the stewards - our best friends - decided not to do anything.”

Steiner was critical of the stewards’ decision not to take any action against Stroll after he struck the rear of Grosjean’s car.

“I sleep at night because I have a clear conscience. Maybe the stewards are awake because their conscience isn’t good,” Steiner said.

“I just tell them things that maybe they don’t want to hear, but if they do wrong and they have to get better, you need to listen.

“They keep making mistakes because they never listen, because they think they are supreme."