Haas’ 5 greatest moments in Formula 1

Grosjean’s points-scoring debut outing

Haas’ first competitive outing was at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, where fortunes for its drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutiérrez couldn’t have been more different. They qualified similarly, the Frenchman 19th on the grid and the Mexican 20th, but from there their races diverged.

Gutiérrez tangled with the McLaren of Fernando Alonso, the latter having a violent accident that left him thankfully with only minor injuries. The resulting debris meant the race was red-flagged, Grosjean was the only driver not to have pitted by the stage so was able to stop during the break.

On the restart, he had progressed to ninth position and, by the time the chequered flag dropped he was up to sixth to claim eight points in the Constructors’ Championship. It was the first time an all-new team had scored points on its debut since Toyota in 2002. For the remainder of the season, Grosjean was the only one of the two Haas drivers to have points-scoring finishes.

Double points finish in Monaco

The first time both Haas drivers scored points was at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix. Qualifying well is vital since it’s notoriously difficult to overtake on the narrow street circuit, Grosjean secured eighth on the grid while team-mate Kevin Magnussen qualified 13th before being promoted to 11th on the grid thanks to other drivers’ penalties.

Grosjean negotiated the start to maintain position, while Magnussen came out of the first corner having made up places. Both drivers were running a one-stop strategy despite opting for the fastest wearing ultrasoft tyres. After the stops, Magnussen suffered a puncture and the unscheduled stop saw him slip back to 13th position. However, retirements ahead in the field saw him cross the line in tenth to pick up a single Championship point, while Grosjean claimed four points having finished in the same place he started.

Speaking after the race, Magnussen was circumspect: “I feel like I’ve had the most unlucky season of my life, but at least today we got both cars in the points and I’m proud of the team for that. It’s Monaco, and a lot of things can happen.”

A top-five finish for both drivers

Haas celebrated its 50th Grand Prix entry with its best-ever result. The 2018 Austrian Grand Prix weekend was founded on a strong qualifying session — Grosjean earned sixth on the grid and subsequently promoted to fifth because of a penalty handed to Ferrari’s Sebatian Vettel, while Kevin Magnussen secured eighth on the grid.

By the time there were twenty laps left in Sunday’s race, Grosjean had settled into sixth place with Magnussen right behind. It looked as if that’s where they were going to finish, until both Haas drivers profited from retirements further up the field when both the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes came to halt.

The Haas team-mates retained their inherited top-five positions until the chequered flag. The ninth round of the 2018 season provided Grosjean his first points-scoring finish of the season, and the third double points finish in the team’s history. 

After the race, team principal Steiner said: “To finish fourth and fifth, what more can you wish for?” A podium, perhaps?

Haas’ best Championship year

That result in Austria contributed to a points tally that gave Haas its best result in the Constructors’ Championship. In fact, by the time the F1 circus reached Austria, Haas had already surpassed its points tally from the previous year with 12 rounds still to go.

The 2018 season started with some teams calling for an investigation into the similarities between the Haas VF-18 and the previous year’s Ferrari SF70H, but the relationship between the American and Italian teams has always been contentious. 

Haas’ fourth and fifth place finish in Austria was foreshadowed at the opening round in Australia. The team-mates ran in those positions until both retired following a scheduled pitstop. It was later revealed that both cars suffered cross-threaded wheelnuts. A higher water mark came in Singapore where Kevin Magnussen scored the team’s first fastest lap. Haas finished fifth in the Constructors’ Championship standings in its third season in the sport, just one point short of doubling its 2017 total.

Magnussen earns his first pole

Brazil provided a mixed bag of weather for sprint qualifying in 2022. Choosing the right tyres at the right moment proved vital, particularly in the second segment. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc struggled to maintain pace on intermediates, eventually abandoning his attempt at a time and delaying a few other drivers in his slow-down lap.

A spin from George Russell brought out a red flag and, by the time the circuit reopened, a deluge made it impossible for any driver to set a time. The result? Nobody could topple Kevin Magnussen’s time, and he secured the first pole for both himself and the Haas team. 

In the sprint race, Magnussen was unable to hold back the progress of faster cars and eventually slipped to eighth, but it was at least enough to claim a single Championship point.

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Images courtesy of Getty Images.