Your inbox approves Men's coaches poll Women's coaches poll Play to win 25K!
SPORTS
Formula One

Haas F1 Team hoping for homecoming atmosphere in Austin

Jeff Gluck
USA TODAY Sports
Haas F1 Team's Romain Grosjean, shown here during the drivers' parade in Japan earlier this month, is hoping for a similar reception in Austin.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – It was already a long day for Formula 1 drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez, who were shuttled around the Charlotte area Tuesday on a media tour.

Even so, they both smiled when asked about the prospect of their Haas F1 Team racing in front of American fans for the first time at the United States Grand Prix this weekend in Austin.

“It’s going to be super exciting to go to Austin,” Grosjean said. “It’s a home race for the team. It’s been 30 years (since) we have had an American team on the grid. It’s something more unique.”

Haas F1 is owned by California businessman Gene Haas, who also co-owns the Stewart-Haas Racing team in NASCAR. Though the drivers are not American (Grosjean is French and Gutierrez is Mexican), the team itself has one of its bases near Charlotte.

Nico Rosberg wins Japanese Grand Prix to widen lead over Lewis Hamilton

That should give fans at Circuit of the Americas something to root for Sunday.

“I hope we’re going to get a lot of fans, a lot of banners and people cheering for us, which always makes us proud,” Grosjean said. “We’ll see.”

Haas said he’s seen “a few Americans, Canadians or English” at the international races he’s attended who tell him, “Good for you.”

“But just a few,” he emphasized. “Not many.”

Esteban Gutierrez says the early success of Haas F1 Team in its first year of competition initially sparked some jealousy in the paddock.

Will that change on home turf?

“It’s difficult to gauge expectations,” team principal Guenther Steiner said. “It’s 30 years, a long time. I think we just have to wait to see what the weekend brings. Because if you have expectations that you have hundreds of thousands of fans cheering you on, I think that’s unrealistic. We don’t really know.”

No matter the response, all involved with Haas F1 Team say this first season has been a success. The drivers have accumulated 28 points (all with Grosjean, who is 13th in the standings), which the team said makes it the most successful new organization of the millennium.

Haas’ success has impressed others inside the paddock. After all, new organizations in F1 are typically non-competitive.

“They were pretty amazed and very jealous,” Grosjean said.

Haas F1 Team: 'We are not here to be last'

“At the beginning they were extremely jealous,” Gutierrez added. “Everybody.”

So is there a chance for a top-10 finish again Sunday?

“I’m trying not to have expectations one way or another,” Haas said. “You get beat down pretty quick in this business. So if things don’t go right, then it was just another race. But if we do phenomenal, we’re a great team.”

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck

Featured Weekly Ad