Romain Grosjean got his first chance to drive Haas' new Formula 1 car for the first time this week, albeit in Ferrari's simulator, and reported a positive first impression.
Haas has full use of Ferrari's simulator as part of a technical partnership between the two teams which also includes engine, transmission and suspension supply amongst other things.
Although Grosjean won't get to drive the actual car until the first pre-season test later this month, he was pleased with the progress he made in the simulator which included ironing out some early bugs before concentrating on basic set-up.
"The first impression was rather good," the Frenchman told L'Equipe. "As with any new car there were some teething technical problems to resolve, like the turbo lag, the energy recovered under braking, etc..
"The morning was spent on this, but once everything was settled we had the opportunity to run extensively in the afternoon.
"We worked on the basic set-up which included braking and throttle response, differential settings, and various ride heights in relation to their aerodynamic impact compared to wind tunnel data."
Grosjean was however cautious not to get carried away with the simulator results, with on-track feedback the only true indicator of performance: "A simulator is always just a guide, but I think the car's baseline appears to be good."
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