Guenther Steiner has given his response after Haas' update package at the Hungarian Grand Prix drew comparisons to the Ferrari. After opting against any significant changes over the first half of the season, the team have applied a new floor, bodywork and suspension to the VF-22, among other items. These will only be used on Kevin Magnussen's car at the Hungaroring, though, due to a lack of parts and the Dane's advantage over Mick Schumacher in the standings.
Steiner responds to 'white Ferrari' claims
When asked whether he expected to be accused of copying, Steiner told media, including RacingNews365.com : "I expect to be fast. "If somebody says we copy, I've been giving the same answer: So what should we have copied, the Williams? "No disrespect to Williams, but it's a completely different concept, and they are behind us, so if you copy something, you copy the best you can, and at the moment it's Ferrari and Red Bull. "Our car has got the same engine as Ferrari, with the same gearbox. They've got the same suspension. Why would we be copying anything else? "And they're winning races, so it's one and one is still two."
Haas' different approach to upgrades
Unlike other teams on the grid, Haas have waited until later in the season to bring updates to their car. Steiner admits that there were reasons behind the squad's decision to do this. "We took a little bit longer," he explained. "We wanted to make sure everything [that] we put on the car is also working with the set-up of the car. We are not bringing something which we cannot use, because we cannot change the set-up to where that stuff works. "It is part of that that we took a little bit longer, we were a little bit more careful." Steiner also acknowledges that the team's ups and downs in recent years may have made them a little more cautious. "In '18, we had a good year. We brought developments, they worked, and you move on," he added. "Obviously, we got a little bit scared in '19. Then in '20, we didn't do any upgrades, and [the same] in '21. "So now we [decided to] just take it slow and do it as best as [we] can do, to make sure that we are not back to '19, that we are ending up in Abu Dhabi with the same car we had in Bahrain this year."
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