“If we can finish the race we have a big chance” – Haas’ Guenther Steiner

This weekend’s season opener for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the Bahrain International Circuit, represents Haas F1 Team’s chance to get back into the midfield, after spending the entirety of last season developing the VF-22.

The American team will be hoping that their decision to effectively sacrifice the 2021 season, will be rewarded this weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix, as the team look to start the season the best way possible, by finishing in the points.

Haas have been very busy as of late not only with pre-season testing, but also with replacing Nikita Mazepin. Popular Danish driver Kevin Magnussen, who spent four years driving for Haas before being replaced for 2021, makes his highly-anticipated return to the team this weekend, alongside Mick Schumacher.

Haas now have an experienced driver in the form of Magnussen alongside the youth of Schumacher, who is entering his second season in Formula 1. Haas Team Principal, Guenther Steiner believes that the Danish driver still has some youth left in him, but that his experience will enable him to be a leader for the team.

“I would say Kevin also has youth to him still, he’s not even 30. We’ve got one experienced young guy and one really young guy who needs a bit more experience. The strength of Kevin is he’s been through ups and downs in his career which has made him a lot tougher but he’s well prepared for this challenge. Mick is someone who wants success, whatever work it takes or how hard he needs to push himself to be as good as Kevin, and Kevin can be a good leader in the team because he’s more seasoned than Mick. I think we have a good pair at Haas now.”

The pace of the VF-22 at pre-season testing will have filled Haas with confidence, their reliability however has been a major issue for the American side. Steiner is worried about the reliability of the VF-22 heading into this weekend, but believes if the car can make it to the end then the result may be one of huge significance to the team.

“First of all, to finish the race. We had a lot of issues reliability-wise that I’m a bit scared of, but I think if we can finish the race, we have a big chance. I’m optimistic, cautiously optimistic, about getting into the points and that would be success.”