Romain Grosjean secured Haas’ best qualifying position of eighth place ahead of Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
It also marked the first time both cars entered the pole position shootout with teammate Esteban Gutierrez claiming 10th place on the grid.
After some very shaky performances in recent races, most notably with Grosjean failing to finish in Malaysia with brake failure, the team looked to have turned their fortunes around the Suzuka circuit.
Grosjean said: “I feel pretty good after that and I’m very pleased for the whole team. We brought all the updates we had. We made the new front wing work on the car and that made a difference in qualifying.
“The whole session went very smoothly. I didn’t get my DRS (Drag Reduction System) on the last stretch of the final corner.”
With the weather conditions being a real unknown heading into the race, Haas could look to take further advantage if the opportunity arises, however, if it stays dry, both cars have a chance to still show a turn of performance after some solid running in practice.
Grosjean added “Tyre degradation will be very important. Hopefully, if the balance is as good tomorrow as it was today, we should be fine.”
Haas trail Toro Rosso by 19 points with just five races left to go, the team will be looking to get both cars home in the points to give them a chance at clawing back that gap and secure a good result for the team after a recent rough period.
It would also give the team plenty of momentum ahead of their much anticipated first home race at the United States in two weeks time.
