Coming off successful debut, Kannapolis based F1 team heads to Bahrain

KANNAPOLIS, NC (WBTV) - The success of the Kannapolis based Haas Formula One race team in its debut performance at the Australian Grand Prix have the team in a positive mind set as it heads to the second race of the season.

Until Haas F1 Team took to the grid last weekend, it had been 30 years since an American team competed in the FIA Formula One World Championship.

Expectations for the new team were surpassed in a big way when Haas F1 Team driver Romain Grosjean finished sixth – his best result since coming home third in last year's Belgian Grand Prix in August. The performance earned eight points for Grosjean in the championship driver standings and eight points for Haas F1 Team in the constructor standings.

It placed the new kids on the block an unfathomable fifth in the constructor standings, buttressed by teams with decades more experience. The last time a Formula One team scored points in its debut race was in 2002 when Mika Salo finished sixth for Toyota at the Australian Grand Prix, a span of 14 years.

"It went better than expected, to be fair," Grosjean said.  "It was a difficult weekend with the weather, and a tricky qualifying session for everyone. Sunday is the day you really want to perform, and we did very well. The car was reliable and it went to the end. The strategy was perfect. Since day one the car has shown huge potential. We showed that in Australia. With barely any setup work, we put it on the track and managed to hold on to sixth at the end of the grand prix."

Unfortunately, Grosjean's teammate, Esteban Gutiérrez's race was over on lap 17 when Fernando Alonso clipped Gutiérrez's left-rear tire as the duo entered turn three. The impact launched Alonso into the air and sent Gutiérrez spinning into the gravel trap. Both drivers walked away from the harrowing accident.

"We can be very proud of what we have achieved and how we have reacted, considering that we are a new team, but still we have plenty of work to do," Gutierrez added. "Those things will come with experience, and it's something we're improving on each time we're on the track."

Gutiérrez's travails and Grosjean's point-scoring finish are now in the rearview mirror as Formula One packs up from the land down under to head to Bahrain, site of Round No. 2 on the 21-race Formula One schedule.

Practice begins Friday, April 1, with qualifying on Saturday, April 2 and the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, April 3.

Bahrain made its debut on the Formula One calendar in 2004, becoming the first grand prix to be held in the Middle East. The 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix marks the 12th in series history. The circuit is known for massive run-off areas, with substantial track width across its layout .

This encourages overtaking, but has been criticized for not punishing drivers who make mistakes and stray off course. Since the track is located in the middle of the desert, sand can pose a problem – to the level of grip on the racetrack and to the performance of the car, with the engine's air filters checked thoroughly and often.

These challenges, along with the raised expectations from Haas F1 Team's performance in Australia, greet the organization in Bahrain.

The Haas F1 team is based in Kannapolis on the same campus as the Stewart-Haas NASCAR team.

Haas F1 Team contributed to this story

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