Front wing progress "very significant" for Haas

The American outfit had faced some difficulties in recent races and has been unable to get a proper understanding of the update, but at Suzuka its pace was transformed as both Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez made it through to Q3.

And although neither the Frenchman nor Mexican managed to finish in the points, after a good one-stop strategy call from Williams helped its drivers overhaul them, team boss Gunther Steiner is in no doubt about how important the upgraded front wing design is.

"I think it was very significant," he said ahead of the team's home race in Austin this weekend.

"The delay in getting it to work is like when you are at a grand prix and you have problems in FP1 and FP2 – you focus on trying to find out what the tyre is doing and the data on the tyre and basic things. You cannot develop a new part on the car.

"We had problems in FP1 and FP2 in Singapore and Malaysia, so we didn't do a good job of finding out about the wing. But in Japan, we had good practice sessions and, sure enough, the wing came alive in Japan."

Steiner knows that with a tight midfield in F1 there can be no guarantees of repeat form in the United States this weekend, but he says there is some confidence about where his team is heading.

"We keep on learning," he explained. "We found a good balance for the car. With our new front wing we figured out how to set that one up. I hope we can do well in Austin like we did in Japan, but nothing is for sure.

"You know, everybody else will do a good job. So, we will see where we come out. The thing is we know the car can be quick. We just need to get the best out of it."

Steiner is adamant, however, that the fact his team was able to get both cars into Q3 in Japan was important, because it proved that there is genuine pace in its car.

"In F1, getting into Q3 – it's one of the things you need to do on speed," he said. "You don't get lucky to get in there. In the race there are other circumstances, but on a one-time lap you need to be fast. For me, it means as much as achieving points at the first race in Australia.

"To get both cars into Q3 is fantastic and I think everyone on the team would agree. I wouldn't say we were surprised because we felt like we were very good. We got it done. It was a fantastic moment."