Haas not ready to compete with Red Bull - Grosjean

Roman Grosjean has admitted the Haas team are not as close to Red Bull as they would’ve hoped after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, which saw mixed results for both constructors.

Red Bull drivers: Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly finished third and eleventh respectively with the former overtaking Sebastian Vettel to seal P3 whilst Gasly failed to score points. The Haas pair also had a contrasting weekend with Magnussen coming home in sixth but Grosjean himself was forced to retire after another pit stop error.

The Haas team finished fifth in the Constructors’ Championship last season and will be looking to improve on that finish but Grosjean admitted they aren’t quite ready to compete with the Red Bull’s.

“I think we are a little further away from Red Bull than we hoped,” Grosjean said.

Red Bull entered 2019 with a new Honda engine but performed admirably and the Frenchman admitted the teams are at different levels in terms of resources.

“I am afraid that the gap could open during the year due to the resources at their disposal,” he added.

“We will certainly try to make it as difficult as possible, to please both Rich Energy and ourselves.”