Haas F1 Team gained three more points on fourth-place Renault in the constructors’ standings as driver Romain Grosjean delivered an eighth-place result in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit. Teammate Kevin Magnussen did not finish after a flat left-rear tire at the start of the race damaged his racecar too much to continue.
The American squad remains fifth in the constructors’ ranks, but cut the gap to Renault to eight points after Grosjean secured his fifth points-paying drive in this year’s FIA Formula One World Championship. Haas F1 Team also extended its advantage over sixth-place McLaren to 26 points.
The four points earned by Grosjean in the Japanese Grand Prix gave him 31 on the season, the most he has scored in his three years with Haas F1 Team. Grosjean scored all 29 points in the team’s inaugural 2016 season and 28 points last year. He is 13th in the driver’s championship.
“We need to analyze what happened with the Virtual Safety Car restart. I was right on my delta time and [Sergio] Perez, when the gap was 2.4 seconds before, overtook me straight away. We need to check and see if there is not a problem in the system there. I thought I had done the job on my side. We did our best. We had a few technical issues on the car, which didn’t make our life easy. I think without those, we clearly had the pace to be in front of all those guys. Onto the next one”, Grosjean commented.
Some good points today in Japan. P8. #R8G #JapaneseGP #F1 #HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/6ErfQaeo0d
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) October 7, 2018
Magnussen is eighth in the driver’s championship with 53 points.
“Well, I passed Charles [Leclerc] around the outside of 130R, then through the last chicane he kept close and slipstreamed down the main straight. I went to the right, I think he followed for a bit and then went back to the left and clipped my left-rear tire, causing the puncture. It’s unfortunate, but that’s what happens sometimes. The tire delaminated and ripped all the floor. It damaged the rear wing, the brake ducts, etc., so we had to retire”, the Dane said.
