Guenther Steiner: Where are the Other Teams With Half-New Cars?

Guenther Steiner is pleased Haas have triumphed against their upgrade-heavy rivals

Upgrades may have generated much of the conversation this weekend, but Haas has proven that significant changes are not necessarily a recipe for guaranteed success in F1. 

Guenther Steiner has been consistent in his belief that upgrades should not be Haas F1's priority, instead focusing on optimising the VF-22 with setup adjustments.

After Aston Martin's impressive showing in Miami, in addition to their almost entirely new AMR22, there were concerns Haas would become vulnerable in F1's increasingly competitive midfield. 

Haas have received criticism for their relatively stagnant development so far this season, rarely introducing updated parts to the VF-22. 

With this in mind, Guenther Steiner is pleased to have silenced the critics: 

"Where have the others gone who came here with half-new cars? We achieved more than them despite no upgrades. That's called efficiency!"

A secret weapon that contributed to the team's double Q3 appearance was a small modification to the floor. Haas found themselves able to run the car without experiencing any significant porpoising, as Steiner mentioned to AMuS post-qualifying:

"We could go lower and lower with the ground clearance, and the cars got faster and faster. The engineers themselves could hardly believe it".

Having avoided grid penalties for driving unnecessarily slowly in qualifying, Magnussen and Schumacher will be desperate to bring home much-needed points for Haas.

Magnussen overcame persistent DRS issues to put himself 8th on the starting grid, while Mick Schumacher's brake failure in FP3 (and subsequent limited running) wasn't enough to deny the German a top 10 start.

With F1's midfield battle intensifying, Haas must ensure to take the points that slipped through their fingers at Miami.