Share this article on LinkedIn Email

The new Haas team reckons it can aim for the points in every grand prix after its surprisingly strong start to life in Formula 1.

Romain Grosjean gave the team points on its debut in Melbourne after his strategy benefited from a red flag situation but his performance in Bahrain, where he took fifth, was achieved in normal conditions.

Grosjean is fifth in the drivers' standings on 18 points, three points ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, with Haas fifth in the constructors' championship.

While team principal Gunther Steiner concedes it will be tricky to achieve such lofty positions as top fives on a consistent basis, he says the outfit has proved it has a car capable of scoring points every time out.

"Fifth is a bit too much to ask for," said Steiner. "We want to try to get points every race now.

"That is the objective - if we reach it or not, I don't know.

"We know well enough what the car can do and it is possible to make points.

"We want to try and get points every time, but to try to get fifth every time is getting a little bit greedy and we don't want to be like that."

GARY ANDERSON: Haas is good for Formula 1

Grosjean agreed with his boss but said the team must remain grounded.

Asked if he felt consistent points were now realistic, he replied: "It looks like it.

"There are going to be circuits that suit us better than others and we have to keep working, but yeah, I think we can.

"We have be calm, keep our feet on earth and realise there will be days when it's harder and not going our way.

"It is going to be a question of how much performance can we put on the car, how many upgrades can we bring and what can we do to get ourselves in an even better position."