Guenther Steiner has outlined what Haas hope to achieve at the upcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, after a bump back down to earth last time out in Australia. With the American-led team having scored points with strong final positions from Kevin Magnussen in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the Australian weekend proved to be much more similar to the events Haas endured throughout 2021. Neither Magnussen nor Mick Schumacher were able to work their way into the points in Melbourne, but Haas team boss Guenther Steiner is confident that his squad will be able to bounce back at Imola. "The whole weekend was very challenging, starting with little issues on Mick’s car and Kevin not being on top form because he didn't feel well," Steiner said in his official preview ahead of the Emilia Romagna weekend. "Nevertheless, [even] with all these hindrances, we still got close to points. In the race, we didn't get lucky with the Safety Cars which could've helped our strategy, but we put Australia behind us." With the VF-22 proving fast in the right conditions, Steiner is hopeful of a smoother weekend at the Italian circuit. "It's a very competitive championship this year and you need to be perfect to get points," he commented. "What I take to Imola is that the car is still performing, and we will perform as we go on. I hope we get to Imola having fewer unfortunate instances."
Sprint Qualifying an extra challenge for Haas
With Haas seemingly going in the wrong direction with their set-up for Australia, Steiner admitted there's an extra layer of challenge awaiting in Imola. This is due to F1 using the Sprint qualifying format for the first time this season, with the cars being put into parc ferme conditions from the start of Friday qualifying. This means just a single 60-minute practice session is available for the teams to figure out their weekend set-ups. "For sure, it will be challenging, because we've only got one free practice session to find a good set-up," Steiner stated. "With the difficulties of these cars and the inexperience we have got with it, it won't be easy, but it's the same for everybody, and who is better prepared will have a better car, so we will be trying our best like everybody else. "I think it is a good thing for the championship to have these Sprint races and I really look forward to it."
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