So the Haas boys, Grosjean and Gutierrez have qualified 14 and 18 respectively.
Qualifying position is not that important to me right now, not do i think the team cares too much. The drivers do… and they should. so all is right with the Haas F1 world.
The next goal is to have both cars through turn 6 unskaved and picking up the positions for the cars that are… skaved! The turn 1-2-3-4 combination is like a combination cork screw/ meat grinder, it is forced down into turn 5, which is more of a bottleneck than a turn and into 6. Position and exit speed at turn 6 could be the setup until either the first caution or cycle of pit stops.
I think Daniel Riccardo is the one to watch. I picked him in my pre-quali blog that he will be fast, and he is. But i think we are starting to see an 800 pound gorilla in the room. I don’t have evidence to support my claim without doing some research, but… I think Danny Kvyat is underperforming. His result will give us a baseline of where he will be in regard to his team-mate.
I am detecting a sub-plot within the Haas team. Previously I questioned weather Gutierrez got the prototype car, which might explain the mechanical issues. The term “bad luck” has been used in regard to his two DNF’s. But Esteban seems very insistent on disclaiming that term. When interviewed by Will Buxton during the China GP weekend Gutierrez was persistent to identify specific causes for every technical problem. He seemed uncomfortable with any attribution of luck to his results. It is difficult for many to understand why he would care about these remarks. But it is very important that he control his psyche.
When an F1 driver is on the track in the heat of battle for championship points, luck does not enter the focus. Like a fighter pilot, he is strapped into a machine that needs to respond predictably and instinctively. It is the mental preparation of work and discipline that prepares the driver to jump into a mental tunnel at 200 mph. At no point in any of that process does luck enter into it.
If the mechanical and electrical issues on the #21 car are resolved, and if the car finishes the race, I expect Gutierrez to perform well. My overall expectations are somewhat tempered. I want to say that I think Romain Grosjean will finish in the top 5 or 6 as before. But I cannot. The Mercedes powered force India’s and Williams tool very strong. Grosjean is starting in the 14th position, so he will have to find a way to move up. He seems to have the race pace to perform, but a better qualifying position should also be expected.
So, if Grosjean can finish with in points, and Gutierrez can just finish, I’ll be happy. And I suspect the teams expectations to be about the same. The team is fighting to develop their car. We’ve seen improvements in the front wing already. 14th and 18th are not very strong qualifying positions. Grosjean/Gutierrez qualified 19/20 for Australia and 9/13 in Bahrain. The new qualifying format did not seem to indicate or impact their race performance. And like I said, I’m not too concerned with their current qualifying position. They seem to out perform their expectations. Clearly the Haas F1 team is one of the most prepared rookie teams to take up an F1 livery. Preparation cannot make a car faster than it really is. Will power and wishful thinking won’t work either.
If ever there is a place to attribute luck in F1, it is when you gain a race position due to a competitors mechanical failure. A timely pit stop under caution like in Australia can also be partially attributed to luck. But luck is something which you cannot control or plan on. My favorite quote regarding luck comes from the actor James Earl Jones… “The harder I work the luckier I get”
Again, my expectations for the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix are realistic… a race finish for Guiterrez and a top 10 for Grosjean and I’ll be dancing. But now knowing what we know about how Haas has built his team, it will be hard to temper excitement. But for now… a 2 hour nap before the 2 AM Kannapolis race start time is worth a try!
It’s gonna be awesome!
Richie OUT!