‘It means a lot’: Steiner highlights his favorite moment as Haas prepares for 150th race in Monaco

Haas will enjoy a special weekend in Monaco, as the upcoming race will be the team’s 150th Grand Prix in Formula 1. Recently, “proud” team principal Guenther Steiner selected his favorite memory from his time at the sport.

Haas made their debut at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, where Romain Grosjean’s sixth-place finish saw them score points in their first race, and they have continued to grow ever since, being one of the highlights Kevin Magnussen’s pole position in Sao Paulo in 2022.

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When asked what memory stood out to him since the team debuted in Melbourne, Steiner said on the Haas website: “What stood out to me was when we got to the race track in Melbourne in 2016 because a lot of people said we wouldn’t make it.

“We did it, we’re still here and that makes me proud of the whole team. We got points in our first race, which hasn’t happened many times before in Formula 1 history either.

“To me it means a lot to start a team, it is a dream for many to start a team and I was able to do it thanks to Gene Haas who allowed us to do this. We’re in a good position now and we’re just trying to get stronger and stronger, and we will.”

Speaking recently about the latest episode of f1 nation podcast, Steiner admitted to hosts Natalie Pinkham and Tom Clarkson that he was unaware of the milestone until told, before admitting that it had been a “decent ride” up to this point.

“I can’t understand it,” Steiner said. “I’m not a statistics guy, as you know. I live from day to day, from race to race.”

“When they said 150 Grand Prix, if you think that there are people who have done much more than us, but 150 Grand Prix is ​​not little.

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“And if you think it’s the youngest team, I think it says something, it’s very strange. But I have to admit, time has been flying. Like you said, there were ups and downs, also some downs, but I think that’s life.

“That’s the way things are in life, but in the end, it’s been a good ride, or a decent ride, and it’s not over yet, we’re moving on.”

Asked by Tom Clarkson if he envisioned entering 150 Grands Prix when he started with Haas, Steiner replied: “You don’t even think so, Tom. When you do something like this, if you start a business, you have a five year plan. But if you start something in motorsport , you should have a five-year plan, but how realistic is it?

“I haven’t seen anything that has turned out the way you planned. Look at Formula 1 now, would you have thought five years ago that Formula 1 would have been as in an uproar as it is right now? I honestly say no.”

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“I could say I saw this coming, but I didn’t see it coming and we started this when we thought, ‘Okay, let’s try to do something.’ I’m not one to speak for Gene, but I think he was the same.

“‘Let’s try Formula 1, I have a NASCAR team, I love racing cars, let’s do this.'” But I don’t think anyone could have predicted what happened to Formula 1 in the last three to five years.”

Since joining the grid, the US-backed team’s highest finish in the constructors’ standings was fifth, in 2018, and this year they currently sit seventh. That comes after his P8 in 2022, but Steiner believes there is more to come.

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“The current goal this year is to move up in the constructors’ championship from last year, improving every year, it’s as simple as that,” Steiner said.

“And at some point we want to be winning races. I don’t know how far it is and I’m not going to say it’s this season or the next, but at some point it will happen with Haas.”