Haas F1 comes into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this coming weekend locked in a tight battle with the factory-backed Renault squad. The French outfit currently sits in seventh place on the constructors ladders, only three points ahead of Haas, but with point-paying results in five of the seven races run this season, the team's two drivers are eyeing another points-paying effort in Baku.

This will not only bolster their respective 12th- and 13th-place positions in the driver standings, but will also take hold of seventh in the constructors standings and potentially fight with sixth-place Williams, which currently enjoys a seven-point margin over the American based squad.

Last year, Haas scored points in just five races and with that tally already having been equaled in 2017 with still 13 races remaining, the American outfit believes Baku can be the scene of another points-scoring effort that can surpass its 2016 mark and keep the midfield battle as tight as the corners around Baku's historic Sabayil Castle, as Team Principal Guenther Steiner explains…

We're now a third of the way through Haas F1 Team's second year. How would you assess the season and the team's development to date?
We've had our ups and downs, but we scored points in five of the seven races. And in one of those races, we were well on our way to score points, but then we had a mechanical failure. The midfield is very tough, and to score points five out of seven times is not bad. Sure, we need to score more points, not just one-point scores, but in general the team is maturing and I'm very confident that we'll keep maturing.

Where are the areas where Haas F1 Team can improve?
In the short term, it's very difficult to make improvements. You always try to get some aerodynamic updates on the car, but otherwise, it's more mid-term improvements, which we are making and the team is developing. It's also gaining experience – that is one of the improvements we will make one way or the other. I think we're on a good track.

You've scored points in five of the seven races this season, when last year you scored points in five total races. Even though your point tally isn't as high as last year, are you happy with being in the points on a more consistent basis?
Absolutely, because that gives our people to go home with something – you don't have to wait four or five races until you get the next points. Sure, we would like to score more points each event, not just one or two points, but that will come. If you are consistently in the lower-ranking points, we will get to the better positions where there are more points.

Baku became the fastest street circuit in Formula One when it debuted last year and speeds have only increased this year. What do you expect with this newer, faster and wider car on a circuit that's only a year old?
Like all the circuits, we have to see where our time will be. The times improve more on a slower circuit with the new car than on the fast circuits because the top speeds are not much higher than last year. So, I don't know how the surface looks this year in Baku. Last year it was pretty slippery, and I don't know if the asphalt is still slippery. We'll really only know until after FP1.

Was there anything from last year's race at Baku that's applicable to this year's race, or is it all out the window because the cars are so different?
You can use all the data again because now, having done seven races, we can translate the data from last year's car to this year's car pretty easily. It all helps, and we're able to come in to this race as well prepared as we can.

Most first-year events have some growing pains. But last year's race seemed to come off incredibly well. What did you think of Baku's first race?
It's a fantastic place. Everybody did a good job there last year. The organizers were good and the racetrack was good. They knew what to do and they were well prepared.

There's a lot of talk regarding future Formula One schedules. What would you like to see, both in terms of the amount of races and how the races are laid out?
I'm not opposed to a few more races. What I wish is that the races are more bundled – that we stay in one region and are not going back and forth to Asia, where you go back for one week and then back the next. How big the area you group together, I don't really know. It needs to be studied of how many F1 races an area can take. For instance, I think it would be difficult to have a race in Abu Dhabi and then another one the next week in Bahrain because we are very close together there. But a few more races, if it is well organized, will not be that much more time away for the teams. In general, I have nothing against getting up to 25 races.

If the schedule does expand beyond 21 races, what would you need to do to ensure personnel can handle the added workload?
We just need to plan and maybe relieve some people. Maybe not all the people will want to do 25 events, but I think it can all be managed, and if we do it cleverly, it is not so much more. For sure, there is more cost involved because you travel more. You need more car parts because you run more. But, in general, if we've got enough time to get prepared properly, we always find a way to make things work.

Is there a part of the world where you'd like to see Formula One race?
A race in South Africa would be nice.