Haas F1 lives up to its own low expectations

“Keep expectations low and life will be pretty good,” is a quote attributed to Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins.

Haas team boss Günther Steiner could have imagined that at the beginning of the current Formula 1 season.

Steiner said something similar back in March, including: “If we can get a point or two at some point, that would be a fantastic result. But we are realistic and points will be difficult to get. “

It wasn’t the boldest prediction as the team, which scored just three points in 2020, announced that it is putting all of its development focus on its brand new 2022 car.

But even if Steiner didn’t give a tip that would make you rich with the bookmakers, there was nothing wrong with his accuracy – after 11 races Haas still has to cross the finish line.

If anything, there is perhaps a touch of disappointment that neither the rookie duo Mick Schumacher nor Nikita Mazepin have opened their Formula 1 points account.

They always needed a bit of luck to do that, one of those races where there is a high rate of wear and tear due to incidents, maybe due to rain making conditions difficult.

We had a few, in Imola and on the Hungaroring, but Haas was still unable to make capital. However, all hope is certainly not lost.

When you realize that there are still three weeks until the next Grand Prix

# HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/vlFegiyv4s

– Haas F1 Team (@ HaasF1Team) August 8, 2021

Without a doubt, the American-owned team has the slowest cars in the field. They only reached Q2 once, when Schumacher did so at the French Grand Prix – and frustratingly, due to a crash right at the end of Q1, he couldn’t even take part in this second of three qualifying sessions.

With a purely rookie line-up, mistakes and shunts have probably always been part of the structure for Haas this season and that has been shown, but most of them happened in practice or qualifying and not in the races – which would be the lesser of the two evils.

As for the promising signs on Sundays, perhaps the biggest ones were in the final race before the summer break at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

This was one of those examples of a race being turned upside down when a hand-to-hand combat in the first corner knocked several podium candidates out of the race and only 15 runners, including both Haas cars, managed the restart.

What a chance for Schumacher and Mazepin to achieve their best placings, which were previously P13 and P14, with almost a full Grand Prix distance.

Check out the Haas collection through the official Formula 1 store

Unfortunately, the Russian-born driver was then knocked out by a pit lane collision with Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo, but Schumacher drove in the top 10 until he gradually fell back in order and eventually finished in P12 – his highest ranking, but not quite good enough for the Get scoring up and running.

The German described it as “a really positive day for us” and added: “I think it gave everyone a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, lots to take away – I think something for everyone to look forward to when we’ll be back in Spa. “

The downside for Haas, of course, is that their closest rival this year, Williams, DID took advantage of the Budapest Carnage to rack up his first colon placement since 2018 – a running total of 10 that they almost certainly are out of reach in the standings brings.

And Alfa Romeo will almost certainly increase their total to three when the campaign goes into the fall.

But let’s not forget that Haas is about 2022. By then, they hope to have a much more competitive car and two drivers with a lot more know-how and experience in Formula 1 in their second year.

Schumacher only needs to iron out the incidents in free practice and, to a lesser extent, in qualifying – those that sparked back and forth between his uncle Ralf, who defends his nephew’s interests, and Steiner, who is closely watching the team’s budget.

Mazepin has kept a cleaner hand lately compared to the beginning of the season – the Spin Counter website set up in his honor hasn’t been updated since the French Grand Prix in mid-June, suggesting that either the owner has the interest lost or the 22-year-old really improved his game.

“We make too many mistakes, that’s the problem – or I would say in defense of Nikita that I shouldn’t use the plural because he has behaved very well in the last few races,” Steiner said before the Hungarian Grand Prix.

“He did very well. He didn’t do any harm or anything. And Mick, we had a few accidents in the last few races in which we need to improve. “

So what can we expect from Haas in the remaining 12 races planned for the season? More like the same in terms of results, with the aim of picking up any crumbs left behind by the bigger teams when they make a mess like in Hungary.

Expectations will continue to be low, but, as Anthony Hopkins said, there can only be an occasional Grand Prix weekend when life actually feels pretty good.