“You can’t go wrong there.”

What expectations does your team have going into the second half of the season? Günther Steiner: We started the summer break in 7th place in the constructors' championship. Now we have to make sure that we maintain this 7th place, if possible become 6th and hopefully not fall back to 8th place. In midfield, every point is fought for. You can't go wrong and you also have to have a bit of luck. We dropped a few points in the first half of the season. But after the last two years it was a big step forward. How do you explain the extremely fluctuating performance of the Haas team? This is due to the new regulations. The teams in midfield are very close together. If everything isn't perfect, you'll immediately fall behind. You have to be in the right window when setting up the landing gear. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't work, you're way behind, and if it works, you're at the front. Why were the contract negotiations with Mick Schumacher postponed? They have not been postponed. They simply haven't started yet. After the summer break we will consult with team owner Gene Haas about the pilots. We always do it like that. Some media in Germany have picked up a topic that doesn't even exist. But in the next few weeks the decision will be made about the Haas drivers in 2023? I would say in the next 2 months. Mr. Haas usually comes to the European races after the summer break. It is then decided what will be done. It's only about one driver, because Kevin Magnussen still has a contract until the end of 2023.

Mick Schumacher's Haas future is still uncertain. © APA/afp / JOE KLAMAR

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Haas car? Our car is pretty good. It's better than the results were sometimes. In some races, other teams did a better job on the race weekend of getting into the window with the setup. But sometimes we managed to do that well. Overall the car isn't bad. The start of the season was difficult with the Russian sponsor dropping out. Were you able to compensate for that? We are financially stable, we can absorb that. Of course we lack this money, we had to work hard to make up for it, but fortunately we were never in a crisis.

“Budget limits are a good thing for the entire sport so that everyone can be competitive. If only two teams dominate, as was the case in Formula 2, then it gets boring.” Gunther Steiner Some teams wanted the budget limit raised. They were against it. Why? Budget limits are a good thing for the entire sport so that everyone can be competitive. If only two teams dominate, as was the case in Formula 2, then it gets boring. This year, after 1 races, all teams had already scored points. This is thanks to the budget cap. Inflation compensation is provided for if inflation exceeds 5 percent. But it was October of last year that was decisive for this, and it was still under 3 percent. And rules should be followed. Nevertheless, we agreed on a small increase. It is a good development that everyone spends the same amount and so everyone has the same opportunities. The big guys still have an advantage because they build the engine themselves. If we increase the budget for every little thing, we lose control.

“You often have to speculate when it comes to tires. Ferrari is coming from a dry spell and lacks the self-confidence that Red Bull has.” Gunther Steiner Haas is a partner of Ferrari. What do you think about the many strategic mistakes Ferrari made this year? Things have now become quite difficult. Free practice only lasts an hour, but the race lasts longer. You often don't know how the tires will react and you have to speculate how long the tires will last. A small wrong decision can have a big impact. We also made some mistakes with the tires. You always know better afterwards. I want to defend Ferrari there. They are coming from a dry spell and lack the self-confidence that Red Bull, for example, has. Then you are sometimes timid. That could change again in the next races. Maybe Ferrari is doing everything right and the others aren't, then suddenly they're losers.

“I believe that Max Verstappen will no longer let this be taken away from him. He has a big lead and a lot of self-confidence.” Gunther Steiner But the World Cup seems over, right? I would say that Verstappen can no longer take that away. He has a great lead and great self-confidence. The team works well, the car is more reliable than the Ferrari. I believe Verstappen will become world champion.

“At the moment there are more circuits that want a Formula 1 race than we can race. Maybe there will be a rotation principle in the future.” Gunther Steiner Is it the right way for Formula 1 to forego a spectacular track like Spa? It is not yet clear what will happen to Spa. There are also other traditional routes whose future in Formula 1 is still open. Formula 1 is booming at the moment, a lot of people like it and it also has a lot of young spectators. There are race tracks that have a better overall package than others. Sure, the race track in Spa is beautiful, but Formula 1 doesn't live from the race track alone. Anyone who cannot keep up with innovation, security, etc. has a problem. At the moment there are more circuits that want a Formula 1 race than we can race. Maybe there will be a rotation principle in the future. If you compare Miami with Spa or Spa with Zandvoort, it's a different world, even though Zandvoort is also an old race track, but they have built something fantastic. You can't live on history alone. Standing still is going backwards, and that applies even more to Formula 1 than to other areas.

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