Gunther Steiner: 'Haas have best drivers possible'

Team boss Gunther Steiner defends Haas's 2017 driver lineup of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean.

Team boss Gunther Steiner has defended Haas's 2017 driver lineup.

Ahead of the season, the new American outfit replaced ousted 2016 driver Esteban Gutierrez with Renault refugee Kevin Magnussen.

The Dane joins existing Haas driver Romain Grosjean, who qualified sixth in Melbourne, while Magnussen had a much less impressive start, and neither finished the race.

However, Haas boss Steiner told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet: "I feel we have the best driver pairing we can get in our position.

"We have two very good drivers. Good people, good racers. Now we just need to see how good the car is, and what we can get out of it."

Steiner said that Swiss-Frenchman Grosjean alongside Magnussen also works well from a chemistry point of view.

"We all know that Romain is very emotional," he said. "Everyone can tell that from the radio communication. Kevin is much less emotional. He is Scandinavian, but as individuals they are very different as well.

"But I see no problems between the pair of them. My hope is that they will push each other."

After Australia, team owner Gene Haas said that he is also happy with the new pairing, even though Magnussen made costly mistakes in qualifying.

"They are an interesting pairing," said the American. "Qualifying showed that.

"Kevin really wanted to put in a good lap and was willing to push the car to achieve it.

"We don't know how fast he would have been because he made a mistake, but I think Grosjean needs to be pushed and I think Kevin will be able to do that."

The new season continues with the Chinese Grand Prix on April 9.

Kevin Magnussen of Renault in the paddock during previews ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix of Russia at Sochi Autodrom on April 28, 2016
Read Next:
Magnussen distances himself from Haas 'brake problems'
>



You May Like
Recomended from Sports Mole
TeamPoints
1Ferrari37
2Mercedes33
3Red Bull10
4Williams-Mercedes8
5Force India7
6Toro Rosso6
7Haas0
8Renault0
9Sauber0
10McLaren0
DriversTeamPoints
1Sebastian VettelFerrari25
2Lewis HamiltonMercedes18
3Valtteri BottasMercedes15
4Kimi RaikkonenFerrari12
5Max VerstappenRed Bull10
6Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes8
7Sergio PerezForce India6
8Carlos SainzToro Rosso4
9Daniil KvyatToro Rosso2
10Esteban OconForce India1
11Fernando AlonsoMcLaren0
12Daniel RicciardoRed Bull0
13Romain GrosjeanHaas0
14Nico HulkenbergRenault0
15Kevin MagnussenHaas0
16Marcus EricssonSauber0
17Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren0
18Antonio GiovinazziSauber0
19Jolyon PalmerRenault0
20Lance StrollWilliams-Mercedes0