Haas boss Guenther Steiner thinks Kevin Magnussen's impressive form is proof of what drivers can do when their team believes they are worthy of a spot on the grid.
Magnussen has been one of the star performers so far this year and drove to an impressive fifth place in Bahrain. The Dane has put his strong start down to the continuity afforded to him by the two-year contract he was offered by Haas ahead of his arrival in 2017, a contrast to the two difficult single-year stints he spent at McLaren and Renault.
"I think he gained some confidence," Steiner said. "I think that's what's put him in that spot. He likes the car... Australia didn't have the result but he qualified well, same in Bahrain. Again you see here in free practice he was good.
"So he just got the confidence because he's had up and downs in his career. He hopes now that he can stabilise it where he wants to be."
Steiner believes Magnussen's form vindicates the team's decision to take a chance on him when he was struggling to find consistent form at Renault in 2016.
"He got three chances, not many people get three chances, especially not in Formula One ... Sometimes it's worthwhile to take a chance.
"But if you look at these guys they had speed but for some reason or another they never got over the hump to establish themselves. They were always in the position of a one-year contract, the team boss was not behind them. I think its paying off for us."
When told it was a compliment to Haas that Magnussen has reached his current level of performance, Steiner said the atmosphere at smaller teams is different for drivers compared to those at the other end of the grid.
"I thank you for the compliment! I think as a team we do OK with this because we are new and we need the drivers so we appreciate more if they do good for us than an established team, because you know it all and you know this environment here, it's like 'it cannot be me, it must be the driver'. But we are more like, the drivers have speed and let's get them there together."