Well, in racing there is only one position that counts, and Max Verstappen was that guy.
But on the day we’d see Formula 1’s youngest driver win a Championship race, the daily race grind of development continued in the Haas F1 Garage. The 56th of 66 laps saw Romain Grosjean retire. First with a nose issue than a braking issue doomed his race.
Esteban Gutierrez could not hold onto that final points position and landed in 11th place. We are yet to see the young Mexican bring home points for the Haas F1 Team. His tires faded and he could not hold that 10th spot. this was Esteban’s opportunity to take his drive to the next level and he could not. His car has not been reliable and he has express apprehension about being blamed for team issues. And it is in his self-defense that he creates a gap between him and the team. The team should be making these statements to cover the driver. Is there a riff? Esteban does seem to be somewhat reactive to situations and it’s probably best that camera’s not be present at those moments. A single sound bite can change everything.
So The Haas F1 team scored no points and only one car completed the race. My goal for the team was to have two cars complete the race with one in points. But Barcelona was the first benchmark for the team.
Grosjean was fighting in the points when he had to retire. So the performance is in the car. We’ve got 5 races in the books. We’ve his the first milestone for the team and the fans are optimistic. It is not realistic to judge the progress of the Haas F1 Team on a weekly basis. We want a winner every week, but the rookie team is still in development. Progress can be measured in 4-5 race increments. I believe we can expect a continually steady climb in the team’s performance.
Gene Haas wants to see CNC machines, but on race day it’s all about winning!
Bring on Monaco!!! It is going to be absolutely fantastic!!!!!!