Haas team boss Guenther Steiner believes that after just four days of testing, the VF-17 is looking to be a whole lot better than its predecessor.

"Reliability has, obviously, been good," he said. "This year we’ve had very few and very small problems. Compared with last year, it’s been a lot better, and that is how it should be.

"Ferrari did a very good job this year with the power unit package," he added. "It’s been very reliable.

“We know a lot more about the car now than we did four days ago. Now we can make the next step and hone it out, make it better.”

Not in any way wishing to rain on his parade, while the VF-17 completed 273 laps over the course of the first four days of testing, last year the first week saw the team complete 281 laps in the first week, the main reliability issues appearing in the second week whit it managed just 193.

Indeed, Steiner has admitted that brakes, which were a constant issue for the team in 2016, continue to be a problem. The Italian claims that the drivers find brake performance differs almost on a set by set basis leaving them struggling for confidence.

In its efforts to resolve the issue last year, Haas tried Carbone Industrie brakes in Brazil as an alternative to its regular supplier Brembo. The results inconclusive, the American team will carry out a further test at a forthcoming race but is yet unclear which one.