Haas ‘making good progress’ with 2022 car - Steiner

Haas is making good progress with its 2022 car that is being designed at Maranello, according to team principal Guenther Steiner.

The new budget cap in Formula 1 saw Ferrari needing to reallocate some staff, and the close collaboration Haas enjoys saw some personnel seconded to the customer team, with Ferrari setting up a bespoke facility at its Maranello headquarters. Those working for Haas have no access to Ferrari’s design office but Steiner, who visited the new base recently, is pleased with the work that is being done there ahead of next year’s new regulations.

“The day-to-day running in our Maranello office is managed by Simone Resta,” Steiner said. “Obviously, we’re always in contact, we’re always speaking about things, not least as I know the past here and I want to give him as much of that knowledge, so he knows how best to go forward.

“In the short five months we’ve been up and running there he’s been doing a good job. I’m obviously very happy to be looking forward to 2022. I see that we’re making good progress. Hopefully, the car will be competitive and we’ll have lots of fun again in 2022.”

https://twitter.com/HaasF1Team/status/1404417306336301057

Steiner is also happy with the progress of his driver pairing this year as both Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin gain experience, seeing the upcoming triple-header of races in France and Austria as a further test for the two.

“I think every challenge for them is good," he added. "They get exposed to the things that just happen in Formula 1. It’s a triple-header, you cannot change it, you have to deal with it. Sometimes it’s good because there’s no time between the races for distractions. They’re both young, they’ve got lots of energy, and racing’s what they want to do.

“For me, this is not a bad thing for them. They just need to keep focused and we see just how much they can do that. I think it’s good for them in the first part of their career, not just the season, to be exposed to this pressure. I’m sure they’ll cope very well with it.”