Rich Energy’s aim for Haas to beat Red Bull is the right goal for the new season, insists the team’s boss Guenter Steiner.
During the American team’s 2019 car unveiling, title sponsor Rich Energy’s CEO William Storey courted some controversy when he suggested they want to take on Red Bull on the tracks and in the real world.
But instead of shaking off the comment, Steiner said it is a great goal for the upcoming season.
Speaking to Motorsport about taking on the Milton Keynes based squad, he said: “I think you have to try hard,”
“If you have no target, you never achieve anything.
“Off the track, I don’t know, William can speak better about that than me, because I am not an expert in energy drinks. But sure, it is an ambition.
“They [Red Bull] are good in racing. But you never know. Last year I think we had the fourth fastest car, and we finished fifth, I know about that. So the next one up was Red Bull. We can try.
“If we achieve it or not I don’t know, but if you don’t try, then for sure you don’t achieve it. Why would you do it if you don’t put your target high?”
The team’s driver Kevin Magnussen nodded in agreement with his boss’ idea said there is nothing wrong with having an ambition.
“I think it’s great to have a big ambition,” he said. “You hear William say he wants to take on Red Bull. He started a company that will be in direct competition outside of Formula 1 so you need to have this kind of ambition to succeed. There’s nothing wrong with that at all.”
But he also admitted it is unrealistic to expect them to beat the Austrian team right away.
“I doubt it’ll be this year, but no one knows what the future holds. There are regulation changes and maybe budget caps, so who knows what can happen? You can’t say what’s possible at the moment but if you don’t believe in it, for sure it won’t happen.”
