After a good 2018 season, expectations were high at Haas, the next season should be (at least) as good.
With four races to go, the disappointment is great. The team lays in 9th position in the constructors’ championship, seven behind Alfa Romeo and very far from the upper midfield where it believes it belongs.
Günther Steiner and his engineers failed to understand the problems and so failed to find solutions related to tyre temperatures all season, resulting in races where the car was behaving decently and other (most) races where tyre wear was horrible without any credible explanations for these differences.
An aerodynamic upgrade was introduced mid-season, but accident prone French driver Grosjean advised to go back to the Melbourne specification where Danish driver Magnussen preferred the new package. This added to the confusion.
Nico Hulkenberg who lost his seat at Renault in favor of French talent Esteban Ocon, was in talks all summer with Steiner and Haas in order to replace Grosjean who’s contract comes to an end, which was a great opportunity for the team, the German being fast, experienced and reliable,but the team inexplicably decided to retain the mercurial Frenchman.
Some rumors in the paddock suggest that owner and funder Gene Haas is gradually losing interest in the project, the team being unable to fight with the top teams, and that he might pull the plug end of 2020 and sell the team.
