Haas F1 Team

This article is about the Formula One team that entered the championship in the 2016 season. For the team that competed in the 1985 and 1986 seasons, see Haas Lola.
United States Haas-Ferrari
Full name Haas F1 Team[1]
Base Kannapolis, North Carolina,
United States (Main)[2]
Banbury, Oxfordshire,
United Kingdom (European)
Team principal(s) Gene Haas (Team Owner & Chairman)
Joe Custer (COO)
Guenther Steiner (Team Principal)
Technical director(s) Rob Taylor (Chief Designer)
Ben Agathangelou (Chief Aerodynamicist)
Founder(s) Gene Haas[3]
Website www.haasf1team.com
2016 Formula One season
Race drivers 8. France Romain Grosjean[4]
21. Mexico Esteban Gutiérrez[5]
Test drivers United States Santino Ferrucci
Monaco Charles Leclerc
Chassis VF-16[6]
Engine Ferrari 059/5[7]
Tyres Pirelli
Formula One World Championship career
First entry 2016 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry 2016 Russian Grand Prix
Races entered 4
Constructors'
Championships
0
Drivers'
Championships
0
Race victories 0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0

Haas F1 Team[1] (previously known as Haas Formula and Haas Racing Developments)[3][8][9][10] is a Formula One racing team established by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owner Gene Haas in April 2014. The team originally intended to make its début at the start of the 2015 season,[9][11] but later elected to postpone their entry until the 2016 season.[12]

The team is headquartered in Kannapolis, North Carolina50 km (31 mi) from Charlotte[2] – alongside sister team and NASCAR Sprint Cup entrant Stewart-Haas Racing, though the two teams are separate entities. The team also established a second forward base in Banbury in Oxfordshire for the purpose of turning cars around between races during the European part of the calendar.[3]

History

Preparations (2015)

Haas was the first constructor to submit an F1 entry after the failed US F1 project in 2010,[13] and it is the first American team to compete since the unrelated Haas Lola outfit raced in the 1985 and 1986 seasons. The Haas Lola team was owned by former McLaren boss Teddy Mayer and Carl Haas, who is of no relation to Gene Haas.

Following the collapse of Marussia F1 during the 2014 season and the auctioning of their assets, Haas purchased the team's Banbury headquarters to serve as a forward base for their operations.[14]

Unrestricted by testing regulations until the time the team entered an official season, Haas shook its new car down in December 2015 ahead of official pre-season testing at Barcelona in early 2016.[15] Haas approached Italian manufacturer Dallara to build their chassis, with a power unit supplied by Ferrari.[3][16] Former Jaguar and Red Bull Racing technical director Guenther Steiner is the team principal.[3] Haas confirmed its new car had passed the mandatory FIA crash tests on 8 January 2016.[17]

The team announced on September 29, 2015 that Romain Grosjean would be one of their drivers for 2016.[4] On October 30, 2015 during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend, it was officially announced that Ferrari test driver Esteban Gutiérrez would join the team for 2016.[5]

Controversy

Haas' approach of establishing a far-reaching partnership with Ferrari was met with a mixed response from the paddock. The team was applauded for pioneering a low-cost model that would allow new teams to enter the sport and be competitive, which had been of concern to the sport following the collapse of HRT and Caterham, and ongoing financial problems that had threatened Marussia and Lotus. Conversely, Haas' approach was criticised by smaller, privateer teams who had invested in their own infrastructure and expressed concerns about the close relationship between manufacturers and satellite teams handing more political power to the sport's larger teams.

Competitive début (2016)

In the team's debut at the opening 2016 Australian Grand Prix, Grosjean finished 6th, scoring eight points for the team, which became the first American constructor to win points in its first F1 race and the first constructor overall since Toyota Racing in 2002 to record points in its debut.[18] At the same race his team mate, Gutiérrez crashed out in an incident which destroyed former world champion Fernando Alonso's McLaren and caused the race to be temporarily red-flagged.[19]

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Points WCC
2016 VF-16 Ferrari 059/5 1.6 V6 t P AUS BHR CHN RUS ESP MON CAN EUR AUT GBR HUN GER BEL ITA SIN MAL JPN USA MEX BRA ABU 22* 5th*
France Romain Grosjean 6 5 19 8
Mexico Esteban Gutiérrez       Ret Ret 14 17
Notes

References

  1. 1 2 Noble, Jonathan (September 2, 2014). "Gene Haas changes the name of his new Formula 1 team". Autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Doolittle, Dave (April 13, 2014). "Kurt Busch: NASCAR team co-owner Gene Haas 'serious' about F1 team". Austin American-Statesman (Cox Media Group, Inc.). Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Anderson, Ben (April 14, 2014). "Gene Haas eyes Dallara chassis tie-up for F1 entry". Autosport.com (Haymarket Publication). Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Parkes, Ian (September 29, 2015). "Haas Formula 1 team announces Romain Grosjean as first driver". Autosport. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Elizalde, Pablo (October 31, 2015). "Haas F1 announces Gutierrez for 2016". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network, LLC. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  6. Beer, Matt (February 21, 2016). "Haas unveils maiden Formula 1 car, the VF-16". Autosport.com. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  7. "Ferrari power unit for Haas F1 Team". Ferrari (Ferrari). September 3, 2014.
  8. Gluck, Jeff (April 14, 2015). "Gene Haas: No reason U.S.-based Formula One team can't succeed". USA Today (Concord, North Carolina: Gannett Company). Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  9. 1 2 "FIA WMSC statement, Marrakech, 11 April 2014". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. April 11, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  10. Rencken, Dieter; Noble, Jonathan (January 16, 2014). "NASCAR team boss Gene Haas plans new Formula 1 squad for 2015". Autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  11. Noble, Jonathan (April 6, 2014). "Formula 1 could have two new teams in 2015 - Bernie Ecclestone". Autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved April 7, 2014. They will be accepted," he said about the Haas entry. "We have also accepted another team as well.
  12. "Haas confirms debut will be in 2016". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  13. Beer, Matt (June 24, 2010). "FIA fines and disqualifies US F1". Autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  14. "Haas F1 on schedule for 2016 debut after key acquisitions". BBC Sport (BBC). March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  15. Medland, Chris (February 3, 2015). "Haas plans December shakedown". F1i. Chris Medland. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  16. "Ferrari power unit for Haas F1 Team". Ferrari (Ferrari). September 3, 2014.
  17. Medland, Chris (January 8, 2016). "Haas passes FIA crash tests with first car". F1i. Chris Medland. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  18. Whisenant, David (March 20, 2016). "Kannapolis based Haas F1 teams makes history in Australia". WBTV (Kannapolis, North Carolina: Raycom Media). Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  19. Lines, Chris (March 20, 2016). "Alonso Flips Car After Dramatic Collision at Australian GP". Associated Press (Melbourne: AP News). Associated Press. Retrieved April 6, 2016.

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