Haas targeting seventh after Renault surge

Haas is targeting seventh place in the constructors' championship after slipping behind Renault in the standings at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Renault has shown increased competitiveness since significant upgrades were introduced mid-season and leapfrogged Haas into seventh position in the constructors' championship courtesy of Jolyon Palmer's sixth place in Singapore. With 22 points covering fifth-placed Williams down to Haas in eighth place, team principal Guenther Steiner admits the aim is to recover one position in the final six races this season.

"We decided a long time ago that we would start focusing full-time on the 2018 car in August, and we started partially on our 2018 car in March," Steiner said. "You have to plan it well because it's so complex, but everyone else is working on their 2018 car as well.

"If you were to develop something at this point for the current car and you put it into production, when it comes out it would be too late. If you develop something now, you won't get it to the racetrack for this year. We still want to achieve seventh, or the best result we can. We haven't given up.

"Singapore was one of the worst tracks for us, including Hungary. We knew we'd be weak on those tracks, and we were. We got away with two points, so we got away better than we expected to. Hopefully, at the other tracks, we won't be this far behind the midfield. In the midfield, anything and everything can happen. It's up and down all the time. Regardless, we'll work hard to achieve seventh."

With Romain Grosjean finishing ninth in Singapore, Steiner believes the two points gained are a sign of how the team needs to be ready to take every opportunity between now and the end of the year.

"You just have to keep your head down and work. You always try to do the best job and keep everybody motivated. That's how racing works. We were very honest about it: If nothing happened, it would be very difficult to get in the points. But in Singapore, things happened and we were able to capitalize. We kept on fighting, like always."