SPIELBERG, Austria -- Romain Grosjean helped Haas complete its best-ever Formula One result at the Austrian Grand Prix, but in the final laps he doubted he would make it to the chequered flag.
Grosjean and teammate Kevin Magnussen converted Haas' strong pace into fourth and fifth, helped by a dramatic race featuring three retirements from the frontrunners. The Frenchman spent much of the final stages managing his tyres and his first radio message after crossing the line revealed how close to the limit he had been.
After crossing the line, he said: "Woohoo! Mate, when you're gonna see the rear tyres bro... They're blistered like you've never seen!"
It helped Haas mark its 50th F1 race with its biggest haul of points in a single race but also meant Grosjean finally got his account up and running after a frustrating opening to the season.
"It's a great day for all of us, the whole team," he said. "They deserve such a good result with the cars finishing fourth and fifth. It's incredible for our 50th grand prix. I'm so, so happy for all the guys. We've done an amazing job all weekend.
"We had some luck in the race with the Mercedes cars not finishing, but it's been a great weekend and we can really build on that. There are still a few things we can improve here and there, but I'm happy we managed to get that long stint on the tires.
"The last 20 laps were not fun -- there were blisters on the rears -- and I was afraid they were going to explode at any time. I am just so happy that we hung in there and finished fourth and fifth."