Romain Grosjean has praised Haas for its performance during the first half of the 2017 Formula One season having matched its points tally from the entirety of 2016.
After finishing eighth in the constructors' standings following an impressive maiden F1 campaign, Haas has enjoyed a competitive 2017 so far and is currently on target to improve on its championship position in seventh place. Grosjean claimed all of the team's 29 points in 2016 as Esteban Gutierrez failed to score, while new recruit Kevin Magnussen has already recorded 11 points this year, just seven shy of his teammate.
Despite continued brake issues and tyre-related problems, improvements have been clear to see, with Haas registering its first two-car points finish in F1 at Monaco earlier this season. Grosjean believes the American-outfit is now able to produce results on a more consistent basis after stepping up its game and maturing in its sophomore season.
"It's been a very good feeling," Grosjean explained. "We've achieved quite a lot compared to last year. Same amount of points, without the failure in Melbourne we would have six or eight more points so we are in a good place.
"The team is growing up, we've shown that in the year two where everyone was expecting us to dive down, we have actually stepped up our game so very pleased with that. As far as I am hoping and what we are getting since I signed back in 2015."
Just 15 points cover fifth-placed Williams to Renault in eighth, highlighting the tight midfield fight Haas team principal Guenther Steiner is finding hard to predict heading into the second half of the season. Grosjean is pleased with Haas' step forward in competitiveness, though the Frenchman insists his team still has improvements to make to reach its full potential.
"We are on target with our expectations. We wanted to fight in the midfield, sometimes we are ahead, sometimes we are a bit behind. I think generally there are a lot more things we can improve and there is lot more room for improvement in the team which is great to know because we are not fully at 100 percent potential."