Haas target points on debut

Despite having yet to turn a wheel out on track Haas F1 have set lofty expectations for their F1 debut as they chase points in Australia.

Many are predicting that Haas could score points in their debut season as the team not only deferred their entry by a year to better prepare but have also signed a technical partnership with Ferrari.

The team will be powered by Ferrari while also running the Scuderia's transmission and suspension. Added to that their chassis has been built by Dallara and up until recently Haas did not have to adhere to F1's wind tunnel restrictions.

Entering the sport as arguably one of the best prepared newcomers, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner is predicting a points-scoring start to the season for Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez.

"We would like to make the points. Qualifying, if we get to Q2 we will be fine," he told Sky Sports.

"To have a chance of points is our goal and to put on a good show. To show what we have worked the last two years for and we have no big dramas going on. That is our biggest aim at the moment."

Steiner also revealed that signing Grosjean from Lotus was a turning point for the team as it has given them "credibility" in the eyes of others.

"Sometimes it is nicer as you start with a clean sheet of paper and you don't have to fix things, you pick the people you want, you are not trying to readjust what you want," he explained.

"But it is more difficult to attract people and be credible after a few teams have gone out of business in the last year. It is difficult to make people believe that we are here for the long-term and that we are actually coming because we cannot show anything that we are doing. But you need to make people understand how you are doing it and when you will have a car.

"So that was my biggest challenge to convince people, but the signing of Romain helped a lot to give it credibility as people said 'if Romain Grosjean, one of the best drivers in F1, joins the team he should know what he is doing as he has been in the business for a long time, so he must have done his due diligence'. A lot of good people applied for a job with us after that."