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'Mission Accomplished' for Haas and Romain Grosjean in Australia

Frenchman finishes sixth for new team at Australian GP

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Romain Grosjean finished sixth in the Australian GP securing Haas' first ever points in F1.

Romain Grosjean compared Haas' sixth-placed finish at the Australian GP to a race victory as the new team impressed on their F1 debut.

The US-owned outfit had targeted points coming into the grand prix and although Esteban Gutierrez crashed out, Grosjean was able to make the most of the red flag following that accident on lap 18.

The Frenchman, who ran the medium tyre for the rest of the race, held off the challenge of Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India to come home with eight points.

A jubilant Grosjean exclaimed "this is a win for us guys" on the team radio before telling Sky Sports F1: "It feels like standing on the top step of the podium for us. It's been an amazing race and an amazing weekend.

Australian GP report
Australian GP report

Nico Rosberg claims victory in Melbourne

"There's been so much work behind the scenes from day one - this car's got huge potential but we needed a good result. There are plenty of areas where we can improve and we know it, but that result is a morale boost for everyone.

"Staying on those tyres for 39 laps wasn't easy but we got it right and we made it."

Haas meanwhile tweeted 'Mission Accomplished' after their fine debut.

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Their point-scoring finish was the best performance from a team making their debut since Brawn in 2009, and they were the first brand new team to score points since Toyota in 2002.

Team owner Gene Haas said 'awesome return for us' before joking: "We'll do better next week!"

Australian GP driver ratings

The newcomers have been assisted by Ferrari but it wasn't all good news in Melbourne, as one of the benefactors from that 'technical partnership' Gutierrez, a reserve driver with the Scuderia last year, was forced to retire.

Gutierrez and Fernando Alonso were lucky to escape unharmed after being involved in a high-speed at Turn 3 after the McLaren driver looked to get round the outside. The impact propelled the Spaniard's car into the barriers but neither driver suffered serious injury.

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McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Haas' Esteban Gutierrez collide in the Australian Grand Prix leading to the Spaniard being sent airborne and the race to be r

Don't miss the F1 Report for all the reaction and analysis from the Australian GP. Natalie Pinkham is joined by David Brabham and former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley on Wednesday at 8:30pm on Sky Sports F1.

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