‘We can’t have accountants in F1’, says Steiner on penalty

Haas Formula 1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner says he would repeat the squad’s formation lap gamble again, believing such a move enhances the action for spectators.

Haas called Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean into the pits at the end of a damp formation lap in Hungary to put both on slick tyres.

Magnussen and Grosjean rose to third and fourth respectively when rivals pitted during the early stages of the race, with the Dane eventually going on to classify ninth.

But stewards deemed post-race that the team had been in contravention of a Technical Directive relating to radio messages being issued on the formation lap.

It was concluded that neither Magnussen nor Grosjean had driven the car alone and unaided, as is outlined in the Sporting Regulations, given that their engineers had instructed them to pit for slick tyres.

Both were issued with 10-second time penalties, costing Magnussen and Haas a point as he slipped to 10th in the final results.

“For sure we would do the same thing again,” said Steiner. “The 10-second penalty was a little bit ambiguous.

“Unfortunately, we cannot appeal it because it’s a time penalty – you’re not allowed to appeal those ones.

“It was never done before, and it looks like if it’s never been done before – and there’s no clear regulation, you get a penalty.

“We need to move on from this, but for sure it spiced the race up for everybody. I don’t think we should stop doing these things in racing, otherwise accountants can race in Formula 1.”

Haas has struggled for performance throughout the truncated 2020 campaign and Steiner cautioned that a substantial step forward is unlikely to materialise.

“We’re not the fastest midfield car this year and we just need to deal with that one,” he said.

“We’re always trying to get the best out of the package. We’ve not planned any development for this year, so we have to focus on getting the best out of what we’ve got this season and look to next year to try to do something better for that season.

“It will not be an easy year but we’re here to stay.”