No One To Be Fired At Haas

Haas team chief Guenther Steiner says “no one will be fired” after two back-to-back issues that broke down both cars.

The Haas cars were in 4th and 5th until the 23rd lap when Magnussen came out of the pits and was forced to stop due to a mechanic mistake.

Just two laps later a carbon copy of the mistake occurred with their other driver, Grosjean, also pulling up after his pitstop.

The team were in a position to get onto the podium but despite everything unravelling quickly, Haas will not give a knee-jerk reaction.

Steiner said: “The responsible people know that it was their fault. They know the impact wrenches, the wheel nut and the hubs are the same as in 2017. No one will be fired.

“Maybe it was just the pressure that was too big during the two most important pitstops since our entry in 2016. We now have to work harder with the same crew.

“The car is very good which is why we can fly to Bahrain optimistic and all other races too. The very positive tests in Barcelona also surprised us!”

Kevin Magnussen was confident the team can return to such a good position: “It’s a very tough one to swallow for the whole team. We’ll get on top again.

“We’ll fight back. I’m beyond disappointed right now, but we’ll get over it.”

Grosjean also spoke positively: “I’ve never had such a good car in Formula One before. That’s the only consolation on such a black Sunday.

“It’s a lot of points lost, but if we can repeat that performance over and over, we’re going to forget this very quickly.”