Haas full focus on 2022 "wasn't a gamble"

Haas

Haas full focus on 2022 "wasn't a gamble"

F1 team elected to focus entirely on this year and not develop its '21 car

Ian Parkes & Sam Hall

Tuesday 11 January 2022 15:35 Updated: 15:44

Guenther Steiner is adamant Haas' sole focus on its 2022 car last season "wasn't a gamble" as he is confident of a points return this year.

For the first time in the team's history, Haas failed to score a point during a campaign, finishing last in the constructors' championship.

The scenario was hardly a surprise after Steiner confirmed pre-season Haas would not be developing the VF-21 in favour of concentrating on the new aerodynamic regulations for this year.

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Speaking to GPFans during an end-of-season interview, Steiner explained: "It wasn't a gamble [not] to do anything for the '21 car. That was just a loss. It wasn't something worth a gamble.

"When we started [the season], we had to get up on our feet again after slowing everything down last year.

"After, in April, we were running pretty good. I'm cautiously confident that we will be in a better position, hopefully in the midfield fighting for points [this year]."

When Haas joined the grid in 2016, the team scored points in three of its first four races, signalling its intent it was not in F1 to simply make up the numbers.

After claiming a high of fifth in the constructors' standings in 2018, its fortunes began to nosedive from the following year, culminating in its rock-bottom finish last season.

For Steiner, however, there are signs of a recovery he feels are akin to those witnessed during the team's better days.

"I see similarities to the years when we were fighting for the points most of the time," he added.

"The other thing is the drivers developed pretty good, so they're in a better place than they were at the beginning of the [last] season. As I said, I'm cautiously confident."