Team boss Guenther Steiner is convinced Haas will win races in Formula 1 “at some stage”.
Now in its eighth season on the grid, the American outfit will celebrate its 150th Grand Prix start this weekend in Monaco.
In that time, Haas has experienced highs, such as finishing fifth in the Constructors’ standings in 2018, to the low of Nikita Mazepin and being distant backmarkers in 2021.
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And Steiner began by looking back on the journey taken so far.
“What stood out for me is when we got to the race track in Melbourne in 2016 because we had so many people saying we wouldn’t make it. We made it, we’re still here and that makes me proud for the whole team,” he said.
“We scored points in our first race which hasn’t happened many times before in Formula 1 history as well.
“For me, it means a lot starting a team, it’s a dream for many to start a team and I could do it thanks to Gene Haas who allowed us to do this. We’re in a good position now and we just try to get stronger and stronger, and we will.”
Last year’s rule changes allowed Haas to recover a bit from their 2021 low, finishing eighth, and Steiner is confident the only trajectory is upwards.
“The present objective this year is to move up in the Constructors’ Championship from last year, getting better every year – it’s as simple as this – and at some stage, we want to be winning races,” the Italian added.
“I don’t know how far away it is and I’m not going to say it’s this season or next season, but at some stage, it will happen with Haas.”
The best result Haas has managed is fourth with Romain Grosjean at the 2018 Austrian GP.
However, it was Kevin Magnussen, who has been with the team for six of their eight seasons, who gave them their biggest moment in F1 so far last year.
“That’s a big number!” the Dane said of Haas reaching 150 F1 races.
“It doesn’t feel like that much as it’s all gone by very quickly. It’s been a fantastic ride so far and we’ve had some super special moments, of course topped by the pole position last year in Brazil, but there’s been many more exciting moments.
“It’s always been an extra successful feeling scoring big points with this team because it’s such a small team in a very big sport, competing against some giant organisations. We’ve truly come from being real underdogs to being an established Formula 1 team.
“We’re still one of the smaller ones but the growth and the journey overall has been phenomenal, and I’m very happy to have been a part of it so far and hoping to have many more years.”
