Haas Retains Grosjean & Magnussen For 2019

HAAS CONFIRMS ROMAIN GROSJEAN AND KEVIN MAGNUSSEN FOR 2019

    Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen will remain at Haas for the 2019 Formula 1 championship.

    The American team will retain the same driver pairing for the third consecutive year and is the seventh team to confirm its line-up for the upcoming season.

    Team boss Guenther Steiner believes the driver consistency will help the team continue to develop as it heads into its fourth season in F1.

    “From the very beginning, we needed experienced drievrs to hasten the development of our car and our team, and we have two very good and experienced drievrs in Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen,” he said.

    “We’ve improved drastically from last year to this year, so retaining both drivers was a pretty easy decision.

    I think the 100-point barrier should be and will be broken, and we’ll do it with Romain and Kevin. Both drivers push each other to be better and their collective feedback allows us to be better.

    It’s not a coincidence that in their second year as team-mates Haas F1 Team is having its best year. By keeping Romain and Kevin together we aim to do even better next year.”

    Haas has regularly been best of the rest so far this season, with Magnussen lying seventh in the drivers’ championship behind the Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes drivers. Grosjean, who endured a string of retirements early in the season, lies 14th overall, while Haas is currently fifth in the teams’ championship.

    “It’s impressive to see what this team has accomplished in such a relatively short time, and for someone who has been here since the very beginning, I take a lot of pride in the time, effort and sacrifice we’ve all put forth to make Haas F2 team so competitive,” Grosjean said.

    “I’m very happy to continue with Haas F1 team and represent Haas Automation and all our partners. Gene Haas has built something very special – something we can make even better – and it’s an honour to be a part of it.”

    Magnussen added: “I’ve never been in a better situation than the one I’m in here at Haas. This is a team filled with racers and we’re all striving for the same thing.

    There’s no bureaucracy and everything is straightforward. Gene Haas is all about efficiency and he and Guenther Steiner have created a very efficient environment that gets the best from its people.

    We all believe in each other and that’s why we’ve achieved as much as we have.”

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Hungarian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “I think the biggest difference was the resurfacing of the Hungaroring. It used to be very bumpy, and now it’s pretty flat, which is a bit of a shame. It’s not a high-speed circuit, but saying that, sector two is quite cool – going up the hill and coming back down to the last two corners. It’s not as slow as it used to be.

    It can get very hot in Budapest. It’s not an easy race, but on the other hand, there’s not many high-speed corners on the track, so it’s more about keeping your focus and concentration all through the race. Regardless, we’re always keeping fit to prepare ourselves.”

Kevin Magnussen - “We’ll see when we get there. Our car should be competitive. It is at most places now. Of course, there’s going to be tracks where it’s a bit less competitive for us than others, but we just need to maximize everything.

    It’s a pretty physical track. You’re turning all the time. You don’t get much time off on the straights, because there’s a bend, or the straight is just short. It’s a bit like a go-kart track. You don’t get a lot of time to relax on the straights.”

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German GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - "The potential of the team is big. That’s what I’ve been saying for a long time. This year, we’ve shown that we’re capable of being fast at most of the tracks, and it’s been really promising. It’s good news and it’s been a good effort from everyone on the team. Barcelona, Paul Ricard, Red Bull Ring, Silverstone – they’re all places where we’ve been really strong at different types of circuits. The team has made a lot of progress. The potential has been there since day one. We’re ready for more.

    We’ve been good everywhere, except Monaco, to be fair. The latest upgrade we had is a really good step forward. It makes the car better in low speed, as well. I think high speed we’ve got a really good balance. It’s a really consistent car with good down force. In low speed, we know we can improve a little bit more, we know where, but the car is not bad either. I think we could actually be alright in Germany and in Hungary.”

Kevin Magnussen - "I think in Barcelona (at testing) we realized that our car was pretty handy. Our expectations then were already quite high. I’m not surprised by this point to be fifth in constructors’ championship. We’ve got the potential in the car to be even higher than this. We should aim to keep this position, or even target one more position. I think Renault is very consistent, but we can beat them at times, and we have done many times this year. Most of the time we’re level with them on pace, so it should be possible to keep fighting for this position all the way to the end.

    Germany has a mix of corners with high, medium and low-speed turns. It’s a good, all-around track. I think it will be possible to overtake there as well. Let’s see. I think it’s probably not a track we’re looking forward to the most in the season, but we can still score points, I’m pretty certain.”

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British GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “(Silverstone) is a really cool track, especially the fast part through Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel corners. When you have the grip in the car there, you really get the sensation of the g-forces. Everything’s pushing down. You really want to get the first part of the flowing corners right. If you don’t, you just lose a lot of time. When the car is very stable and has good balance, you can go flat-out and really push it to the limit.”

    Silverstone is in the UK, and the UK weather is known to be sometimes rainy, sometimes dry. That plays a part. It can change a lot between qualifying and the race, and then even in the race itself. You can also have a good car in qualifying, but if it’s not quite perfectly balanced for the race, you’ll pay the price. That’s where success lies, and probably why most of the winners didn’t start from pole position.”

Kevin Magnussen - “Silverstone is definitely one of the good circuits. It’s really fast and you’ve got some big sections with fast changes of directions. I really enjoy driving the circuit. (It’s) probably one of the best circuits for these new cars. It’s a real down force circuit with lots of high-speed corners. We all know that high-speed corners are the most impressive in a Formula One car, and Silverstone is all about that.

    Silverstone is actually a challenging circuit to overtake. It’s all so high speed, so it is quite difficult to follow other cars. You do have some good straights, so if you’re a good chunk faster, then you will be able to overtake, but it’s not going to be easy.”

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Austrian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “At the Austrian Grand Prix, we were fast last year, so I’m very much looking forward to going back there this year. It’s a cool circuit, nice location, and the car was working very well in France, so I’m very happy with that. Hopefully, that’s going to keep being the case in Austria, and at Silverstone and some more, because I think we’ve got the potential to do that.

    My favourite parts of the track in Austria? The high-speed corners – 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 – the whole of the last sector. You carry much more speed and it carries such a good feeling. With these cars, it’s faster and even better. I’m very much looking forward to going there and racing.”

Kevin Magnussen - “The Red Bull Ring is a good little circuit. It’s a little bit unique. It’s a very small area. It kind of reminds me of a go-kart track in that you can basically see the whole track from the grandstands. It’s quite nice and compact, but still with some fast corners and long straights, giving some opportunities to overtake. When I’ve raced there, it’s been entertaining. It’s a fun little track. I would say Turns 9 and 10 – the last two corners of the track, they’re cool. They’re challenging with the off-camber, then the on-camber. First, in Turn 9, the track leans to the outside, then at Turn 10, it leans to the inside. It’s pretty challenging… it’s like a short rollercoaster ride.”

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French GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “I want to get a good weekend, have some luck, get my first points of the season, and get a lot of support from the fans. I think we should be in a nice place at Paul Ricard. I’m always looking forward to jumping back in the car. I just love driving an F1 car.

    I liked the updates we had (in Canada). It really felt like it gave me what I was lacking earlier on in the season. I thought P7 in Montreal would be ours. Not being able to qualify didn’t help us, but we made up a lot of ground in the race. Unfortunately, there was too much ground to make up.

    Hopefully, they’ll be even more powerful at Paul Ricard than they were in Canada, just because of the down force. They gave us some front-end on the car, and that really helped me."

Kevin Magnussen - “I’ve been to Circuit Paul Ricard in a World Series by Renault car. It’s going to be a little bit different in a Formula One car, but at least I know the track – which way the corners go, braking points, and so on. I don’t think it will take long to adjust in a Formula 1 car.

    It’s a new track, and I think everyone will get to grips with it very quickly. Most people will have driven it lots in the simulator. I’m sure it’ll be pretty level with what we’ve been through already this year.

    The upgrades were a very positive step. We didn’t have a great weekend in Canada, but I think the car is pretty good at most circuits. We struggle a little bit at low-speed circuits, but I think Paul Ricard is a little higher speed, so hopefully we can be better there."

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Canadian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Kevin Magnussen - “We’re all looking forward to Canada and to putting some new parts on the car, getting back into our normal shape, and getting back in the fight for points. (Canada’s) kind of a low-speed track with a lot of chicanes and big braking zones. It’s a bit bumpy in places, but there are good opportunities for overtaking… It usually offers up a very interesting race.

    There’s lots of great places around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The most famous one is the last chicane, and it’s a really challenging part of the track... You’ve done almost the whole lap, and if you’re on a good lap, there’s lots of pressure to get this part right, as well. It’s always a corner where if you haven’t got a perfect lap, you can try and make it up in that last chicane. If you’re on a good lap, you might not want to take as much risk in that last chicane. So, it’s a really interesting part of the track.

    I’m just glad we’re out of (Monaco), and I can’t wait to go to Montreal and get back into the fight.”

Romain Grosjean - “I think we should have a good car in Canada. I really enjoy racing there – it’s always a great feeling. Turns 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 – they’re all quite challenging. That first part of the circuit – it’s a bit more low speed, and it’s a bit more close to the walls – that’s the part that’s the most challenging.

    Canada is very hard on the brakes... Sometimes you can do some lift-and-coast, especially when the car is full of fuel at the beginning of the race. You want to try to save the brakes a bit and not overheat them, so they’re good by the end of the race when you’re trying to push them, or by pit stop time.”

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Monaco GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “It’s pretty difficult to race there. Every city racetrack is complicated. In Monaco, you can’t make any mistakes or you’re straight into the wall. It’s hard to find the right limit of the car. You always have to drive underneath (the limit), unless you’re in qualifying on a very fast lap. It’s very tight there, and it goes very fast between the walls. It’s a great challenge.

    It’s a driver’s track, where you need to have confidence in your car. But, on the other hand, if your car doesn’t give you any grip, you won’t have any confidence and you cannot make any difference. It’s just finding that very fine balance in between the car, the driver pushing it, and the fact that yes, once you’re very confident, you can actually make a bit of a difference.”

Kevin Magnussen - “Monaco is a great venue. It’s one of the most historic races of the year. On top of that, it’s just a really cool track to race at. I think it’s one of the best of the year. “I think it is a track where you can make a difference as a driver. You feel closer to the limit because of the walls and the high consequence of mistakes. Good drivers feel comfortable on that limit, or close to that limit, and will excel in Monaco.

    From my side, Monaco is the same as any other race. Obviously, winning Monaco would be a dream, but we’re not really fighting for the win there. From our side, we’re still fighting for points, trying to have a good weekend and taking away points. I can understand, though, why the drivers who have won at Monaco feel really happy about that.”

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Spanish GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM 

Romain Grosjean - “Baku showed that you can have a tough qualifying, but you can come back in the race. Obviously, that won’t be the case every time. Barcelona is a difficult circuit to overtake, so it’s always easier to have a smooth weekend and make sure that both cars are well in the points by Sunday.”

    I did quite like the new tarmac at Barcelona. There was more grip than it had previously, and a faster lap time. Now the question is going to be how it is with warmer weather. That’s something we’ll find out during the race weekend.” 

    I think we’ve got a really good baseline and, obviously, the challenge of the year is to keep the development going to make sure that we stay in the race."

Kevin Magnussen - "I feel like I’m having a good season, so far. I’m really enjoying my time with Haas. I feel that we’re benefiting from the experience that we’ve gained together over the last year-and-a-half.

    The new surface (in Barcelona) was very smooth. The effect on the tires was that they were difficult to get up to temperature. Also, degradation was very low, which is why Pirelli introduced a modification to the tyres for this race. They’re trying to get more degradation and easier warm up on the tyres.

    (Returning to Barcelona) does give you a good idea where you stand since winter testing. In our case, we haven’t really introduced that many parts since winter testing. We had some in Australia and, of course, we can reassess that, but I think in terms of numbers and the car, we feel confident that we got the improvements we expected so far.”

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Azerbaijan GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - "The car is really good, and the team has done a good job. We haven’t had much luck yet. We’ve had three races where we were looking at points, and three times where we haven’t scored. Knowing that we’ve got a good baseline and a good car is very exciting. I know it’s going to come our way at some point. Hopefully, that’s going to be in Baku.

    Baku is definitely a different circuit from the rest. There’s that massive long straight line – where top speed plays a key role – and then you’ve got the very twisty part around the castle, where the balance needs to be good. It’s going to be a good challenge. It’s not a race where we were very competitive last year.

    It’ll be interesting to see how much progress we’ve made. It’s a really exciting grand prix – a lot can happen. There are always good opportunities, so we’ll try to get them there.

    There’s a nice battle at the front, then there’s quite a significant gap, then there’s the midfield battle, where one race it’s the Renault that’s the fastest, the next one it’s a Toro Rosso, another race it’s the Haas or maybe the McLaren. That makes it super exciting.

    We need to get everything super right – down to the last tenths of a second – to be qualifying in front of the others and race from there. It’s pretty exciting. Obviously, the front is a different situation, where Mercedes hasn’t won yet, but they’re still up there fighting really hard.”

Kevin Magnussen - "Our car balance should be fine in Baku. It’s true that we do have a very good car this year – it’s very well balanced. But it’s going to be very difficult to predict how we’re going to be in Baku, as we don’t know what other people are going to bring in terms of special packages for that circuit. We’re going to try and get the most out of the car, but it’s going to be interesting to see what other people do.

    At the moment, I think we are very even with Renault and perhaps a little faster than McLaren, at least in qualifying. The rest of the midfield, perhaps, seems a little more inconsistent, but they can definitely be up there with the rest of us on occasions. Renault is probably the strongest competitor in the midfield, but I think we have a car that can easily match them, and when we do well, beat them also.

    That should be our aim at the moment – to be fighting those guys. Obviously, we want to improve on last year’s result, which was eighth, and I think that’s a feasible target. We’re doing well at the moment, in terms of performance, but if we find ourselves in a good position halfway through the season, then maybe we have to reset our goals.”

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Chinese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “Shanghai is a tricky track because it’s very different from the early stages in the year. It’s a front-limited circuit, meaning that the car needs to work well with front tires. If it doesn’t, then it gets very tricky. Overtaking in Shanghai is not impossible. There’s the long back straight with DRS helping overtaking manoeuvres. In general, if the car is good in qualifying, the race should be quite good. If not, then in the race you’re going to struggle. If you qualify in the top-10, you should finish in the top-10. If you’re not, then it’s harder. I’ve had good cars in Shanghai, therefore I’ve been able to score points.

    I like the high-speed corners at (Turns) 5 and 6. It’s just an amazing part. (And Turns 1, 2 and 3 are) very challenging. There’s a lot of demand on the front tyres, and it’s not easy to find the perfect lane. Then being up on the back straight, that long right-hand side corner, going onto the throttle, as well, is important because you’ve got one-and-a-half kilometre of straight line. You need to be as early as possible on the power.

    Overtaking in China is always pretty good – it’s always exciting. The balance is really difficult to find because there’s a lot of demands on the front tyres, which makes it tricky. One of the main concerns is trying to find a way to get the best from the front tyres.”

Kevin Magnussen - “Shanghai is a really good circuit to overtake. It always offers lots of opportunities. My favourite part is Turns 7 and 8 – the fast ones in the middle. It’s a pretty good section of the track. (More challenging are) Turns 1, 2 and 3. It’s a pretty unique place, where you enter so fast and then have to stop the car in the corner all the way down to low speed.”

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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “A good result will help us to forget Australia. Let’s get to Bahrain, let’s do our work, like we did in Australia, focus on our jobs and see where we are at the end. Hopefully, we can have another good surprise.

    I love driving in Bahrain. I’ve always had a good feeling there, and I think it’s a really exciting track for racing and overtaking. We’ll see how it goes again. As I said, it’s always given me a good feeling, and I’m hopeful I can keep it going.

    It’s one of those tracks where there are many opportunities to overtake, which is amazing. Obviously there’s turn one, but turn three, turn 11, turn 15 – they all make it probably one of the best circuits for racing.

    It’s certainly easier to find braking points in Bahrain than it is in Monaco or Singapore. You know if you miss it, or overshoot your braking point, you’re just going to go straight and have another go on the next lap. Some street circuits it’s straight into the wall. It’s a bit easier to get used to it and find the limit.”

Kevin Magnussen - “It was good to have a competitive car in Australia. I enjoyed driving the car all weekend, but there’s no guarantee we’ll be that strong in Bahrain, so we have to work hard to try and understand the car and make sure we carry the performance forward into the next race.

    It felt really good being competitive and being able to compete at the right end of the series. I hope we can continue that way. I’m not taking anything for granted. Again, we have a good car, but I’m cautious. We’ll take it one race at a time.

    It would be great to have a good result in Bahrain after such big disappointment in Australia. We’ve got to start building points, as we’ve fallen behind after Australia. We’ve got to catch up.

    Bahrain is a much better circuit for overtaking than Australia. I don’t think we’re going to have as many negative comments about a boring race in Bahrain because the track layout is a lot better for racing and overtaking. I’m sure we’ll see an exciting Grand Prix.”

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Australian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “It’s great that we’ve done very well in Australia over the last couple of years. It shows that the car has been well built and ready to go. Hopefully, that’s the same this year, then we can put on some performance during the season and keep up the development.

    Early on in the season it’s really key to get reliability. It allows you to get results you maybe weren’t expecting. Hopefully, that’s going to be on our side, then we can score quite a lot of points early on and stay in the fight for a good constructors position.”

    Testing went pretty well. The first week was challenging with the weather conditions. The second week we worked very well. We did some great laps and worked through the program we wanted to do, which was great. I think that’s the best we could prepare for the season. Obviously, every track is different, and we’re going to face different temperatures and things like that, but we’ve done as much as we could.

Kevin Magnussen - “Australia’s cool because it’s part street circuit, part road course. It’s got the feeling of being a street circuit, but it has the flow of a permanent road course. It’s tricky because it’s bumpy in places, braking zones are twisty, and corners are tight in places. That said, it still has some good, high-speed sections like Turn 11.

    The chicane there is really, really fast with the current-generation car. It’s just exciting to be in Australia. It’s the first race of the year and that brings a special feeling.

    It’s going to be a good season, another good season. The first two for the team have been quite successful. It’s going to be difficult to improve them but, of course, that is our aim. I think simply if we get points (in Melbourne), we’ll be happy. We’ll go from there.”

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Haas Reveals 2018 Car

(Image credit to: Haas Ferrari F1 Team)

    Haas Formula 1 team has become the first to pull the covers off its 2018 challenger.

    The team revealed images of their third F1 car, the VF-18, which it describes as a refinement of its 2017 car.

    With no major changes in regulations, much of the car appears similar to that of last year’s entry, with the most notable exceptions being the inclusion of the halo head protection devise and the absence of the shark fin and T-wing aero devices.

    “The biggest part of the car’s evolution was the addition of the halo,” said team principal Guenther Steiner. “It took quite a bit of study by the aerodynamicists, but the designers had to work hard to modify the chassis so the halo could survive the mandated loads.

    The total minimum weight of the car increased because of the halo, and there’s a higher centre of gravity simply because of the halo’s position. But everyone is in the same boat.

    The regulations stayed pretty stable between 2017 and 2018, so the VF-18 is an evolution of our car from last year. It’s less about reinvention and more about refinement. You see elements we had from last year on the car this year.

    Our 2017 car was actually pretty good but we didn’t always get the best out of it, and that’s what we aimed to change in 2018. We got the car as light as possible to carry more ballast. We were able to do a better job of putting the weight where we wanted it.”

    Haas finished eighth in last year’s constructors’ championship, just six points behind Toro Rosso and 10 points behind Renault. Drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, who continue at the team in 2018, finished 13th and 14th in the drivers’ championship.

    Once again, the team will be using parts provided by Ferrari, who also supply the team with engines. Team founder Gene Haas says the team will use Ferrari as a bench mark going into its third season in F1.

    “It’s no secret we use a lot of Ferrari equipment, so we’re using them as our baseline,” he said. “We need to be within a half-second of the Ferraris in order for us to be competitive.

    We weren’t last year. I would say we were a second to a second-and-a-half slower than the Ferraris. Overall, we were maybe two seconds off the pole qualifiers, so we need to knock a second off that if we really want to be competitive.

    We’ve eliminated a lot of variables where we knew we were weak, and we knew where we needed to focus. We need to be able to go to the majority of the races and put the car don on the track and be fast. We’ve focused on what it’s going to take to get the cars to be consistent and to close that gap between the top cars.”

    Last year, Haas had at least one car retire from seven of the 20 races, including a double retirement in Australia at the start of the year.

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Abu Dhabi GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “The most difficult thing in Abu Dhabi are the conditions between FP1 and FP2. You only actually have one session that is representative of the race and qualifying, and that’s FP2. FP1 and FP3 are warm, therefore you have an hour-and-a-half to determine the best set-up.

    It’s always about compromise and finding the best set-up to go faster. You just have to find where you can find the lap time. That’s the key. You’re never going to be perfect in every corner, but you can try to be as good as you can over the lap.

    I won there in GT1 (in 2010 with Matech Competition). That was my first-ever GT World Championship start, and the first race with that team, and we won. It was a pretty good moment taking the win and leading the championship.”

Kevin Magnussen - “It’s a very glamorous race to go to as a spectator. It’s obviously a race that goes into the night, which makes it more spectacular. It’s the finale of the season, so it’s always a special race no matter where that is, but I think Abu Dhabi does a good job hosting it.

    In terms of the race, it’s not too bad. Setting up your car, working on the setup over the weekend, it’s difficult because all the sessions are in different temperatures. What you get in FP1 is never what you get in FP2. It’s never comparable, and it’s the same with FP3 in relation to qualifying. It’s a challenging event in terms of building up your weekend.

    I’ve only ever raced at Abu Dhabi in Formula 1. I had my first test in a Formula 1 car there back in 2012. That’s obviously a good memory.”

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Brazilian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - "It’s a pretty tough track with not much opportunity for a rest. Even in the straight lines you can’t rest as much as you would like. You’re at altitude as well, at 800 metres (2,625 feet), so coming from Mexico that’s nothing, but you’re still not at sea level. The weather can be challenging. It can be very warm and humid. It’s a pretty intense challenge but, at the end of the day, that’s what we’re looking for.

    Generally, it’s a track I really like. I like the Senna ‘S’, and the first few corners are pretty amazing. It’ll be interesting to see how it’s evolved with the heavy rain we know you can get in Brazil. We’ll just go out there and see what we can do.

    Brazil is always special because of Ayrton Senna. He was one of the biggest names in Formula 1. Interlagos is a special place. There’s so much history there. On race day you’ve got so much support from the fans. I remember Ayrton winning there in 1991 when he couldn’t hold the trophy in the air because he was so tired and had the pain in his arms from driving.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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Mexican GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “Brake cooling is an issue because of the air density. From there, we also have very little down force because we’re at altitude. I guess the biggest thing for us to feel is the down force loss. The biggest challenge for the car is the cooling.”

Kevin Magnussen - “You need a lot of down force there. As the air is thin, you lose down force. It’s pretty tricky. You can see the effect it has on top speeds. Because the air is so thin, you don’t have a lot of drag from the air down the straight. Our maximum speeds go very high. It’s one of the tricky races that you have to compromise a lot of things in order to cool the car and find down force.

    The atmosphere is awesome. You have the infield part – the stadium part – and it’s always packed. The Mexican people are really into it. It’s a great atmosphere. You notice it on the driver’s parade, for sure. The fans are very passionate.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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US GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “Austin is always a special one for us. It shows that we’re growing up. We’re going there for the second time in our history, and off the back of eighth- and ninth-place finishes, which is pretty good.

    The truth of one race is not the truth of the next one. It was a good result for us in Japan, for Gene (Haas) – who was there – it was a very proud moment. I’m proud of all of us, but for Austin we need to focus on what we can do. We need the right setup, get the right tools and just work as we do, normally. It was pretty good in Japan, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll be the same in Austin. We need to work hard to make it good.

    I’ve always loved Austin, but since I’ve been a Haas driver, I love it even more. I haven’t had the chance to have a national grand prix – that’ll come next year in France – but Austin is the one where I get to represent America.”

Kevin Magnussen - “It’s fantastic being on an American team, racing at an American venue. COTA is a really cool track. It’s one of the better new tracks on the F1 calendar. They’ve done a really good job there.

    The braking zone for Turn 1 is really uphill, so you can brake really late. You can’t see the apex of the exit, but the track is so wide you can choose different lines. It’s certainly one of the better tracks for overtaking. It always makes for a good show.

    The city’s just great for going out. There are great restaurants and great places for having fun. Having a Formula One race there is the perfect package for having a good weekend.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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Japanese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “It’s always difficult to say exactly why (Suzuka is my favourite circuit). I think it’s the flow, the corners, the high-speed nature of the track. There’s a risk, as well, with all the gravel and the narrow parts of the circuit. Overall though, it’s not one thing, and sometimes you don’t know why you like something, you just do.

    It’s one of those tracks where you need quite a lot of down force and a really good car in the high-speed corners. There are some important low-speed ones, as well. It’s about getting the right confidence in being able to push to the limit in those tricky sector-one turns. It’s not an easy track to set up the car, but definitely a really good one to be on.

    (Beyond the race track) it’s a pretty crazy atmosphere from Thursday onward. All the grandstands are full. After the race, they’re still there watching the replays of the grand prix on the big screens. They always have really cool fashions on display, with some crazy accessories. They love Formula One and they’re very passionate. It’s a very electric atmosphere. It’s great to see that passion and so many people cheering for teams like us.

    When we speak about Japan, everyone brings up sushi first. There’s much more to the country than just that. There’s some great meat, great fish. The techniques there are very different than French gastronomy. It’s very delicate. I love it.”

Kevin Magnussen - “It’s just a great circuit. It’s extremely fast, and you have the section in sector one with all the Esses – that feels amazing going through there in a Formula One car. You have the fastest corner in the world, as well in 130R. It’s a real driver’s track with high-speed corners where you need to really push the car. It’s a great atmosphere there. The Japanese fans are amazing. They really get into it.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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Malaysian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “I think it’s pretty much the hardest race of the year. Singapore is a slower track with slower corners, whereas Malaysia has high speed with high loads. Again, it’s a great challenge, a great track, and when you have a good car, it’s an amazing experience.

    I’ve always loved the track. It’s been my favourite track for a very long time. I just love the layout. There’s no one particular race that I remember significantly, except maybe Alonso’s race when he won and couldn’t stand on the podium because he was completely dehydrated. For me, I just love the track.

    I remember GP2 Asia in 2008. I had the pole position in Sepang by around a second or something like that. It was a very fast time. I stalled on the grid, came back from last and almost climbed back up to first, but I was pushed out by a backmarker. I finished ninth, while the top-eight were then reversed on the grid for the second race. I started the second race from ninth and finished second. It was a weekend where I should’ve won both races but, unfortunately, didn’t. I love the track though.”

Kevin Magnussen - “It’s pretty hot there. What makes it easier is that you’ve got longer straights to help you recover and get some wind on your body. In Singapore, everything is very low-speed and you’re constantly working on the steering wheel, braking, then getting back on power. You work a lot harder in Singapore than you do in Malaysia. The temperature is worse in Malaysia but, somehow, the race is a little bit easier. I don’t really do anything particular for mental preparation. It’s physical training, then your mental performance improves accordingly.

    I’ve always enjoyed the track. It’s not a bad circuit. It’s got some high-speed corners and that’s always what drivers enjoy. I’m a little bit sad to see it go as it’s been on the calendar for so long. Turns 5 and 6 (are my favourite parts), as they’re quite quick, and then 7 and 8, the double right-hander as well. Any high-speed corner in a Formula One car is always exciting. Into Turn 1 is a good (overtaking opportunity). The hairpin after the double right-hander is another one. The last corner as well, but usually it’s into Turn 1.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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