Haas F1 admit they have to be worried about every midfield team on the Formula 1 grid as they look to reset their 2017 season when the action recommences at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend.
The American team has had a mixed second year, scoring points more consistently but still finding it difficult to achieve results with both cars, highlighted by just a single double points finish this season in Monaco.
In the last races before the summer break, the momentum also seemed to be waning as they failed to score for consecutive races for the first time this year, albeit in Hungary they were not helped by both drivers getting involved in incidents with Nico Hulkenberg.
At the same time, the midfield, which has been closely fought all year, appeared to be getting even more competitive as McLaren enjoyed their best race in Budapest and Renault too have made good strides in performance.
Asked if those teams were now a concern for Haas, Team Principal Guenther Steiner said: “Everyone is a worry, to be honest, but there’s always opportunities. Williams has shown bad pace [in Hungary] so I don’t jump to conclusions. I always say the midfield is so tight, it can be anything any week.
“Two races before in Austria we were really good (as Kevin Magnussen finished sixth). It’s up and down all the time so I don’t think there is a perfect trend yet about who is strong where and when.
“I guess Williams will be strong again in Spa and Monza. I guess, but I don’t know yet — it’s a little bit weird this year. The midfield is so close together so we are a little bit closer on one type of circuit then you are in front.”
As for Haas’ own performance, Steiner insisted the team was not getting down after a poor run of results and is looking to use the back-to-back rounds in Belgium and Italy to have a strong end to the season.
“Sure. We tried to hit the reset button, but we don’t know what we have until we get there and get our running in,” he said.
“We struggled a little bit in Hungary with it being a low-speed track. We are bringing some items for low downforce or low drag for Spa and Monza and we are as confident as we can be that it works, but everybody else will be doing the same. It will be, as always, a tight pack in the midfield.
“It is nice to have two similar races one after the other. If you’re good in Spa, you normally should be good in Monza as well, but it can go the other way, too. So, let’s hope we are good in Spa.”
