Haas brought a huge package of upgrades to Austin, and like others who faced the challenge of only having FP1 in which to hone updated cars, the team struggled to optimise the VF-23.
Following the Saturday sprint the team took the decision to take both cars out of parc ferme and switch to a higher downforce rear wing, in essence to stop the rear sliding and protect the tyres.
That meant that Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg had to abandon their respective 14th and 16th slots on the grid and start Sunday’s main race from the pit lane.
Hulkenberg finished 13th on the road and Magnussen 16th, with both drivers gaining spots in the final results from the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
However, the five points scored during the weekend by AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda meant Haas's advantage in the constructors' championship was reduced to two points.
Steiner insisted that changing the cars and sacrificing track position at the start was a good call.
“I mean, today was better than yesterday,” he told Autosport after the flag. “Thank God we made the decision to go out of the pit lane with the changed aero set-up.
“Obviously, we now need to look at data and stuff like this to have a better starting position in Mexico with the set-up.
Source: Autosport