Gene Haas: The car has a very stable base
Trial run, master stroke: for its first Formula 1 race, Haas scored eight points thanks to Romain Grosjean's remarkable 6th place. The American team experienced maximum success in Melbourne: Gene Haas could hardly have dreamed of better.
America made its comeback in Formula 1 through the front door: thanks to an unexpected sixth place, Romain Grosjean, who started 19th, exceeded all of Haas’ expectations this Sunday. The team’s eponymous owner had a broad smile at the end of the race: « Obviously, the chassis, the aero, the engine – everything worked. It’s really very important. (…) The car has a very stable base. We knew it somewhat since Barcelona. It of course has a few thorns, but I think the basics of the chassis will give us wonderful moments. (…) This is racing. It’s our daily bread and you know, it’s cool. But I’d like to tell you that there will be tough days, so let’s enjoy this day » declared Gene Haas on Sunday evening.
Of course, it was a stroke of luck that benefited Haas. Romain Grosjean put on medium tires, taking advantage of the race interruption following the accident between Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez. The Frenchman therefore lost no time in the pits and managed to maintain his strategy while holding off the Hülkenberg-Bottas-Sainz-Verstappen group. “Tire strategy, tire preservation, these are the kinds of things that make a driver a legend,” Gene Haas added.
The French driver believed, just after the finish, that this sixth place was like a victory for Haas. “It was a very good day at the office,” he added a few hours later. “We were unlucky yesterday, but we got a bit of luck today with the red flag. However, we were able to hold off a Williams and a Force India. (…) It’s an incredible feeling.” The Haas has therefore been particularly well-born for a new team and has demonstrated a potential that now needs to be confirmed, even though, under normal conditions, meaning without the red flag, the Williams and Force India seem faster than the American car.
Esteban Gutierrez did not, of course, experience the same fortune as his teammate. The Mexican driver was responsible for the very spectacular rollover of Fernando Alonso – and therefore, indirectly, for Grosjean’s sixth place. His thoughts go towards the Spaniard: « The most important thing is that Fernando and I are okay. » He also expressed delight with his car’s performance: « The car handled well and the results showed that we can be very competitive. »
Note that Esteban Gutierrez was ultimately exonerated by the commissioners, who in this followed the advice of the magnanimous Fernando Alonso.
