Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner and Renault driver Carlos Sainz have both emphasised the increasing competitiveness of what was already a tight midfield as the season reaches its halfway point.
The American outfit and the French manufacturer have really been the most consistent in terms of regularly featuring in the top 10, even if the results haven’t always lived up to the pace shown in practice and qualifying, and that is shown as they sit fifth and fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.
However, strong improvements from Sauber and Force India since Melbourne along with the threat posed by Toro Rosso and McLaren means at any given race nine of the ten teams can realistically consider a chance of scoring points heading into every race.
“There is not really a midfield anymore. There’s the top-three and then the rest,” Steiner said, with even the struggling Williams team having scored this season.
“Everybody from fourth to 10th can be competing for points this year, as we’ve all seen. Now, being fifth, it’s nice to be there.”
Renault’s other driver Nico Hulkenberg has identified Haas as his team’s main threat for fourth in the teams’ standings based on recent improvements which have seen them move ahead of the Enstone outfit in the pecking order.
“I think with the potential of the car we have shown over the last three races, it is possible to aim for fourth,” Steiner admitted.
“If we achieve it or not, that’s a different question. I don’t want to be arrogant and say we will finish fourth because by no means is it a given.
“We are competing with three very strong teams for this position. We will try, we will give it our best and, hopefully, we end up fourth.”
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Sainz too acknowledges that for the gains Renault has made in the last 18 months, they cannot start backing off.
“We have lots of things we need to analyse, as the midfield battle is getting tighter and tighter,” he said. “These last few rounds have highlighted that trend and our current fourth place could be threatened if we don’t keep up the hard work.
“We had a really good two-thirds of the race at Silverstone and it was a pity we couldn’t bring more points home.
“We need to keep pushing to secure the fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.”
