Steiner advises against jumping to conclusions over new aero rules

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has warned against quickly jumping to conclusions over the new aerodynamic regulations for 2019.

The new rules have been introduced as a means to reduce the dirty air the cars produce, which in theory will allow them to race closer together. 

Drivers did not get a clear feel of the new regulations during pre-season testing, with some saying that there was no improvement, but others stating that they believe it's easier to now follow a car ahead.

But Steiner says that Albert Park in Melbourne, which hosts the first Grand Prix of the season next weekend, will not provide evidence as to how well the new rules have worked due to the natural difficulty of overtaking there.

"The aim of the regulation change was to make passing easier, but the proof is in the pudding. We’ll only really see after three or four races how it works out," Steiner said.

"Australia, in general, is a very difficult track to pass at – probably one of the most difficult ones. If it doesn’t work there, we shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that it will not work for the whole year.

"We need to see if it works or not, and you only really find these things out in race situations."

Haas will also be keen to avoid a repeat of last year's Australian Grand Prix, where it lost a strong double points finish due to two botched pit stops for Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean.

"We obviously haven’t forgotten last year’s pit stops in Australia, which went wrong," Steiner added. "This year we’ve put a lot of emphasis on arriving there prepared.

"We brought a 2018 car to our car build in Italy so we could train every day and work on pit stops.

"We did the same in Barcelona, as the current car is not always available for pit stop practice when you test. Every day the whole crew practised around 10 to 12 pit stops a day."

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