New F1 teams should get more testing, says Haas

Despite his new American outfit having impressed greatly so far this season, with Romain Grosjean sitting eighth in the points after three races, Steiner thinks the opportunities for track running are too limited.

And he suggests that one idea to help new outfits and make the field more competitive would be to allow them special dispensation for extra testing.

“As a new team, I would want an opportunity to test a few more days than the other teams," he explained.

"Give the new teams a freebie with three or more days of testing to get to know the car better, to get the team working better together so you can avoid the small mistakes you make early on that sometimes have big consequences.

"It’s wishful thinking, but knowing what I know now would have helped avoid the problems we had in China.”

Team work

Haas' points scoring run came to an end in China as the team was hit by brake problems for Esteban Gutierrez and a new front wing did not deliver what was hoped for.

“It’s more about the team working together and getting to know the car better than trying to invent something new," added Steiner.

"If you have one new piece of equipment, you have very little time during the weekend to get the team together and know what to look for and really jell [sic] together.

"It’s not about going faster. It’s about not making mistakes so you don’t go slower. In general, it would be nice to have a few more days of testing.”

No Pirelli test

Steiner has also ruled out Haas from taking part in Pirelli's 2017 preparation tests: “Unfortunately, we don’t have a 2015 car. All we have is a 2016 car, so we cannot do it.

"But it wouldn’t be something we would jump on because we’d rather concentrate on what we have now. We still have a lot to learn with this car.”