Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has admitted taking th♋e fight to Williams is the best it can do in 2021 as it switches its focus to the 2022 Formula 1 season.

Haas left the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix as the slowest t♑eam, with Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin qualifying 19th and 20th.

Mazepin retired on the opening lapꦺ following a dramatic spin on the exit of Turn 2, while Schumacher recovered f꧃rom a spin of his own to finish 15th. 

Assessing Haas' chances♔ for the rest of the season, Steiner believe﷽s fighting Williams is the best it can achieve in 2021.

“I would say if we can take🔯 the fight to Williams, that’s about it, what we ✨can [do]. I’m very realistic about it. 

“We are not putting any effort in to do anything m🌜ore than that. 

“I th♌ink the bi💃ggest amount that we can get out of the car, to get our drivers prepared, or get them prepared better, just get them experienced, that’s what we want to do so they are ready for when we have a better car. That is just how our plan is for this year.”

Steiner alrea♑dy confirmed ah🅰ead of the weekend in Bahrain that Haas will be introducing the “last⛄ step” of its 2021 car development programme at Imola next weekend.

The American outfit has already switched iꦦts full attention to 2022 as F1 introduces its new regulation𓄧s. 

Next up for the F1 circus is a return to Imola for the E✅milia Romagna Grand Prix on April 18.