Haas target pole as F1 power unit penalties mount up

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner is jokingly targeting pole position this season as F1's power unit penalties take hold.

Over the past few races, Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher have avoided starting on the back row due to a welter of penalties for a number of the front-running drivers.

Steiner feels Mazepin and Schumacher are at least learning about racecraft going into the first corner and on the first laps, with the German starting as high as 14th in the Russian and Turkish Grands Prix.

“It is a very good thing for our drivers that this is happening at the moment, so they’re not always starting last and second last, or at best, 17th and 18th," said Steiner. "It’s a little bit more forward.

"We’re still hoping that at some stage with everybody having to change their engine, we will end up on pole position but I think we’re running out of time for this year.

"Starting in these positions trains them more for next year when we hope to start from these positions by our own means, with a better performing car.

"It’s a big opportunity for them to learn and take stuff in, as every time they do one of these starts, they learn a lot about how they have to behave and how to get the best out of it.”

Triple-headers starting to become normal - Steiner

With the season starting to draw to a close, the teams now face a demanding triple-header of Mexico, Brazil and Qatar.

Steiner has previously been outspoken on the nature of such events, but as they are starting to become normal in F1, he feels it is a case of adjustment, understanding and learning how best they should be handled.

“Three races are very tough on everybody but it’s part of it now," added Steiner. "If the demand is there, as we saw in Austin, we need to fulfil this demand and try to provide the show for the fans. If they want it, we need to be there when they want it.

"It’s tough but it’s also a period of time you get used to in some ways, and I think we’ll go into that at one stage and it will be normal.

"We will adjust and always do our best for our employees to make it as comfortable as possible.

"We keep morale up, which I think it is now, as we can all see the end of the season and we’re all looking forward to the 2022 car. That’s the biggest motivator at the moment over the last five events.”

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