Expectations at the Italian Grand Prix for the Haas F1 Team we’re probably as high as they have ever been in the team’s history. The Haas team was strong going into Monza. They are competing for that coveted fourth position in the F1 Constructors Championship standings, otherwise known as “the best of the rest”. Meaning, 4th place after Mercedes, Ferrari and Redbull fight for the top three spots. A fourth-place Constructors finish is definitely within reach for the Haas F1 team, and would be a formidable achievement.
Romain Grosjean showed very good pace in qualifying and placed 6th starting grid. Kevin Magnussen ran into some problems during qualifying and did not make it to the third the second qualifying session. KMags started in in the 11th position. This is the first time in the last four races that both Haas cars did not reach the third qualifying round. Magnussed was visible disappointed with his qualifying performance.
Things did not improve for Kevin Magnussen. KMags dropped 2th position bfore the end of the first turn. As the field filtered through turn one they and tried to avoid the spinning Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel. Vettel was tagged by Lewis Hamiltom and Vettel was the loser. Vettel was spun off of the track and had to rejoin the racing line after the traffic passed. Magnussen exited turn 1 in 12th position. Four laps later he was forced to make a pit stop for four new tires due to contact with the Force India of Sergio Perez. Magnussen emerged in 19th position in his Haas VF18 challenger and would never recover. He finished in 17th place, ahead of only the DNF’s of both Alonso and Ricciardo.
Romain Grosjean was very competitive and ran a strong race. He was able to hold his 6th position throughout the race and finished in 6th place. His eight points are very helpful for the Haas F1 Team competition for the Constructors Championship with Renault F1. Both teams we’re at 84 points. Yes I said where.
Following the race Renault F1 file a complaint against the Haas F1 Team. They (Renault) claimed that the Haas floor board was not legal and did not comply with the new specification. Renault won their complaint and the Haas F1 Team was stripped of it’s 8 race points for the Italian Grand Prix due to an illegal floor board. Renault is not my favorite team right now.. Haas is just going to have to kick their butt again and again and again.
The Italian Grand Prix was a great win for AMG Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen finished fifth ahead of Grosjean. The tifosi were broken after Vettel’s pirouette in turn one of lap one sent him spinning off to the back of the pack, but the German was able to pilot his Ferrari back to 4th Place. Valtteri bottas finish third. Kimi Raikkonen appeared on his 100th Formula 1 podium with that second place finish. All of that while Lewis Hamilton scored his 68th Formula 1 championship race win. “Get in there Lewis…”
But for the Haas team, they’ve got some work to do. The victory over Renault F1 will be all the more sweet. See you in Singapore