Guenther Steiner has outlined some of the challenges facing his team ahead of the next two races, with Azerbaijan and Canada on back-to-back weekends meaning two continents are visited in just a few days. With Haas being one of the smallest teams, with the budget to match, Steiner said its imperative that the workload of his crew isn't added to by one of his drivers damaging a car this weekend in Azerbaijan. Mick Schumacher crashed out of the Monaco Grand Prix last time out, with his car splitting in two in the heavy impact. While the team were able to go home and repair the car in a slightly more leisurely timeframe due to the two week gap to Azerbaijan, that's not a luxury that they'll have ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. "The challenges are that you go from one continent to another, it's a long trip and the team is working very hard to get it all done," Steiner said ahead of the weekend in Azerbaijan. "It's just down to having a good team around and working hard but it's a challenge as they only have a few days to get set up again and get going again for the next race." Steiner made it clear to his drivers that he wants a straightforward weekend - a tough ask on the streets of Baku. "If you have any damage on the car, it gets more difficult so we're hoping to not have any damage in Baku," he said.
Will Azerbaijan suit the Haas team?
With Haas leaving Monaco empty-handed due to Schumacher's crash and a technical issue for Kevin Magnussen, Steiner is hopeful of a return to points scoring in Azerbaijan. The VF-22 is a clear step forward from the team in 2022, with Magnussen in particular reaping some of its potential in the early races of the season. Azerbaijan is an unusual circuit, given its hugely long straights are punctuated by some of the narrowest corners of the season, and Steiner is hopeful for a change in fortune. "Obviously, the circuit is split in two elements – very fast and very twisty," he said. "I think with our car, we made good progress in Spain with the setup of the car and it's doing well in all circumstances at the moment. "We need to hit the sweet spot on the setup and I think we can have a good result like we were going to have in Spain and Monte Carlo if things had gone differently. "I'm really looking forward to going racing again this weekend."
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