“There’s not much to say. I lost the rear end in turn three and I just spun. If you look at the footage, I had wanted to avoid contact with my teammate. Kevin had a bit of a wobble, I lifted off the throttle, and then the car just went. I’m sorry for the others that were involved – there wasn’t much I could do once the car went. Kevin had a good race, which is good for the team. I had wanted a steady race, but that wasn’t today.”

How important is it for Haas F1 Team to put a complete race weekend together at Barcelona, where the speed its shown since testing is carried through practice, qualifying and the race so that you achieve your ultimate goal of scoring points? “The most important part is the race on Sunday. Baku showed that you can have a tough qualifying, but you can come back in the race. Obviously, that won’t be the case every time. Barcelona is a difficult circuit to overtake, so it’s always easier to have a smooth weekend and make sure that both cars are well in the points by Sunday.” When mistakes are made, are they compounded by the fact that the midfield is as competitive as it’s ever been? “The midfield is very competitive and very interesting, but I don’t think any mistake changes those results. You want to be able to score as many points as you can, whenever you can.” Barcelona was repaved prior to preseason testing. How did the new surface rubber in as testing took place and what are your expectations for the track’s evolution during the Spanish Grand Prix? “I did quite like the new tarmac at Barcelona. There was more grip than it had previously, and a faster lap time. Now the question is going to be how it is with warmer weather. That’s something we’ll find out during the race weekend.” How helpful is it to go back to Barcelona where Haas F1 Team has the most data of any track in Formula One simply because you spent two weeks testing there before the season even started? “It’s not as vital as it was in the first year. Now we’ve got good data from everywhere, and the team is really working in a good direction. The engineering group is getting stronger, as well as the group of mechanics, so I don’t think it’s that important that we go back to Barcelona.” Haas F1 Team showed speed in preseason testing at Barcelona, and despite the up-and-down start to the year, it’s maintained that speed through the first four races. Does that show the strength of the Haas VF-18 and, more specifically, its adaptability as the series has visited four distinctly different circuits? “Yes, I think we’ve got a really good baseline and, obviously, the challenge of the year is to keep the development going to make sure that we stay in the race.” In six career Formula One starts at Barcelona, you’ve finished in the points four times. Is there a comfort level with Barcelona because of all the laps you’ve run there that allows you to perform well in the race? “No, not really. I think I was lucky to have some good cars some years and being in the points. I don’t think knowing the track is an advantage. Everyone knows the track as well as I do.” What is your favorite part of Barcelona and why? “Turns one, two and three – the mid- to

“This hurts a lot and I want to apologize to the team. We were in the middle of an amazing race, starting last and running P6. Seeing (Sergio) Perez on the podium, knowing I was fighting with him, is very painful for all of us. It was going very well. The conditions were tricky, there was a lot of wind, the car was going left and right, pushing then not pushing. I was warming up my tires and bumped into a switch that I’d moved by two positions. When I touched the brakes, the brake balance was locked rearward – it just locked the rear wheels and I spun.”

You’ve had the pace this season, but not the results. Does knowing the capability of the car and team allow you to persevere and look ahead to the next race because it provides the next opportunity to get the results you want? “Yes. I think the car is really good, and the team has done a good job. We haven’t had much luck yet. We’ve had three races where we were looking at points, and three times where we haven’t scored. Knowing that we’ve got a good baseline and a good car is very exciting. I know it’s going to come our way at some point. Hopefully, that’s going to be in Baku.” The Haas VF-18 has proven quick, thanks in part to its Ferrari engine and also to its overall balance. What are your expectations of the car at Baku City Circuit, which melds two different tracks into one layout? “Baku is definitely a different circuit from the rest. There’s that massive long straight line – where top speed plays a key role – and then you’ve got the very twisty part around the castle, where the balance needs to be good. It’s going to be a good challenge. It’s not a race where we were very competitive last year. It’ll be interesting to see how much progress we’ve made. It’s a really exciting grand prix – a lot can happen. There are always good opportunities, so we’ll try to get them there.” Three races into 2018 and we’ve seen two Scuderia Ferrari wins and one Red Bull win with defending champion Mercedes still looking for a win. It seems there’s parity among the big-three teams, as well as throughout the midfield. What is your take on the competitiveness of this year’s Formula One field? “I think this year it’s been pretty good. There’s a nice battle at the front, then there’s quite a significant gap, then there’s the midfield battle, where one race it’s the Renault that’s the fastest, the next one it’s a Toro Rosso, another race it’s the Haas or maybe the McLaren. That makes it super exciting. We need to get everything super right – down to the last tenths of a second – to be qualifying in front of the others and race from there. It’s pretty exciting. Obviously, the front is a different situation, where Mercedes hasn’t won yet, but they’re still up there fighting really hard.” It appears that the fight for the top of the midfield is wide open. Can Haas F1 Team be best of the rest? “I’m hoping so. We’re working on that. If we do achieve that at the end of the season, it would be amazing.” What needs to happen for Haas F1 Team to maintain the speed it has shown early in the season through the rest of the Formula One calendar? “It’s development of the car, bringing updates, and making sure we exploit the platform 100 percent as much as we can. That’s really what