Proud Guenther Steiner Scoff at Upgraded ‘Half-Cars’ as Haas Accelerates Past F1 Rivals at Spanish GP

While all eyes were on Ferrari’s new upgrades and their subsequent battle with Red Bull, Haas have quietly mastered Saturday’s qualifying, much to the satisfaction of Guenther Steiner. After a disappointing 2021, the American team has shown promise this season. However, several teams, including those around Haas, brought new upgrades to Barcelona.

At the same time, their upgrade is only lined up for the French Grand Prix. With that in mind, many felt that Haas could be left regretting its decision to not bring a new package for this race. Well, they answered all those questions in style during the qualifying session as both their drivers landed in Q3.

READ MORE: Haas Masterstroke Leaves F1 Rivals Dissatisfied With Spanish GP Despite Massive F1 Updates

Steiner’s team is currently 8th and one point behind AlphaTauri. Behind them is Aston Martin, who has brought significant upgrades, but the result on Saturday favored Haas.

The Italian was clearly in a good mood after the qualifying and revealed his thoughts on a strong performance despite bringing no upgrades.

Guenther Steiner reflects on Haas’ performance

The VF-22 has certainly surprised everyone, including Haas themselves. But, they have been criticized for not upgrading the car so far. Instead, Steiner and Co have concentrated on adjusting the smaller parts as the budget cap is in play.

While it may not prove to be the best strategy for the rest, this recipe has proved to be a success for Haas. Speaking after a stunning performance in qualifying, he said, “Where have the others gone who came here with half-new cars? We achieved more than them despite no upgrades. That’s called efficiency!”

A part of their small adjustment in this race was a minor change to the floor. As a result, they suffered no porpoising and it was a reason for their success on Saturday. Haas’ team principal was clearly ecstatic that it worked to perfection.

“We could go lower and lower with the ground clearance, and the cars got faster and faster. The engineers themselves could hardly believe it,” he added.

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The introduction of Kevin Magnussen to this side has brought a much-needed experience. The Danish has been performing at a consistent level and will start from P8 tomorrow. Meanwhile, his teammate Mick Schumacher will start from P10.

With the likes of AlphaTauri and Aston Martin starting behind them despite new upgrades, the team will look to secure valuable points. Can both Haas cars finish in the points? We will have to wait and watch.