Haas F1 Team’s Guenther Steiner insists the morale of the squad remains high despite the setback suffered after the Italian GP at Monza.
A protest from Renault led to the disqualification of Haas’ Romain Grosjean who finished sixth in the race. The American outfit decided to appeal and has in fact executed it as well with the case now to be heard by the council.
The result at Monza for Grosjean helped Haas to go past Renault in the standings despite being tied on points but now they are back in fifth until the case is heard and the decision made then after.
While looking ahead to the Singapore GP next weekend, Steiner stressed that the team is not distracted by these things and the focus remains on doing well on track while their rivals play the off-track games.
“This [the case] doesn’t distract me,” said Steiner. “Our people know where they need to put the effort in. We don’t get distracted when we go racing. We try to always get good results in racing and leave the other stuff offline.
“I would say this happens, but you don’t actively think about it or put any effort into thinking about it. It’s in the back of your mind and it motivates you more. It’s more like, ‘I don’t really care what you do. We’re still going to do a good job.’
“Everybody on the team is going for a good spot, fighting for fourth. They are motivated. It’s not like I have to tell them or they have to be told. Everybody has that spirit already in them,” he added.
Steiner agreed that the on-track ‘gamesmanship’ is now spilling into the paddock which is required sometimes in racing but whether it is good or bad, it is on each one’s judgement. The Italian though conceded that he didn’t expect that it will happen.
“I wouldn’t expect it, but sometimes people react this way,” he said. “If they cannot beat you on the track, they try to beat you in court. That is what seems to be happening. You have to work hard to be envied. We’d rather work hard for it and fight even more.”
[Listen: Grosjean on F1 Beyond The Grid podcast]
