7 Reasons Why Haas F1 Is Killing It In Its First Season

So the Haas F1 Team has burst onto the scene in quite some style, scoring points in the first two races of the 2016 season. We haven’t seen a new team have such instant success in a while, but why is that? What’s the successful formula Haas is using?

1. Healthy budget

As the name suggests, Gene Haas is the team owner. He has plenty of motorsport experience thanks to running an outfit in Nascar but his main focus is his machine tools business, which designs and manufactures precision machine tools and specialised accessory tooling.

Haas was very clear that the main reason for entering F1 is to help promote his business. Marketing his company with a team in the biggest motorsport series in the world and with the Haas name all over the cars will clearly help him reach this particular goal.

The established business obviously helps to give the Haas F1 team a healthy budget, reportedly around $100million - something that has always been a concern for newer teams entering the series. In fact, recent additions Caterham and HRT both exited fairly swiftly due to budget issues. Haas doesn’t have that problem and that is a big weight lifted off the shoulders of the team.

2. Ferrari engine

Not only do the two VF-16 cars have Ferrari power, but they run the current 2016 power unit specification, unlike rivals Toro Rosso. This is a big boost to the team and the Prancing Horse has made great strides with its V6 Turbo and Energy Recovery System (ERS) over the winter.

The gap to the Mercedes has been cut considerably and this has immediately helped Haas be more competitive. Plus, the team’s close relationship with Ferrari meant it was able to sort out the engine packaging and placement in the car and other organisational, logistical and design elements in good time. The deal with Ferrari was sorted well in advance of its debut and that was only going to be a positive thing.

3. Other Ferrari parts

Haas has gone down a slightly different team model compared to other new entrants, in that alongside its engine deal with Ferrari, the cars also use other components like the gearbox, suspension, brake discs and other small parts.

This not only means Haas knows it is getting quality, tried and tested parts but also limits the start-up costs considerably, meaning more budget can be set aside for aero and other development work. Some have criticised this model, particularly the independent teams, but it is one that has certainly paid off for Haas.

4. Strong overall package

But while Haas may have had a good boost from its Ferrari partnership, there are still a lot more car components to make and create. The regulations state constructors must design and build certain elements of the F1 machines themselves, including the monocoque, survival cell, bodywork, wings, floor and diffuser, among other parts.

So a lot of the team’s own design and build has also gone into the VF-16 while the Dallara chassis is clearly strong and the aero package is working well so far. It isn’t like a 2015 Ferrari being run in a different livery, like, for example, the Super Aguri set-up from the late 2000s. It is Haas F1’s own car and own hard work.

Haas F1 unusually has two bases, with its main headquarters in Kannapolis, North Carolina, at a new, state-of-the-art facility alongside the Nascar Sprint Cup team co-owned by Gene Haas. The team also has a second HQ in Banbury, the former base of Marussia before it turned into Manor. So it has a good mix of a new factory and an established one that already had the set-up it required. It also has team members working with Dallara on the chassis and Ferrari with the engine.

6. Strong driver line-up

A new team meant there were two extra spaces to fill on the grid, and after a long time considering the many options, Haas went for the experienced Romain Grosjean and the quick Esteban Gutierrez. Grosjean is highly rated and understandably so, having scored podiums at Lotus.

Moving to a new team was a risk but it has certainly paid off initially. His old team, now run under the Renault banner, has struggled, while Haas has hit the ground running with two top 10 results – both scored by Grosjean, with sixth in Australia and fifth in Bahrain.

Grosjean’s speed and experience is complimented well by Gutierrez’s youth and talent. He raced for two seasons with Sauber before spending last year as Ferrari’s F1 reserve driver. The Mexican also comes with a good amount of sponsorship, which is always handy. He still has a point to prove in F1 but with Haas, he could well do so.

7. Experienced team members

It may be a new team, but there are plenty of experienced and familiar faces at Haas. Some have been moved over from Ferrari, while others have joined from teams like Manor. Former Jaguar and Red Bull F1 technical boss Guenther Steiner is team principal, while ex-Marussia team members Dave O’Neill and Rob Taylor now hold team manager and chief designer positions at Haas. Head of aero, Ben Agathangelou, was formerly at Ferrari.

So those are the reasons why Haas F1 has joined the series in style with two top six positions in the opening two rounds of the 2016 season. It’s great to see and the team’s debut campaign in F1 will surely be one of the best stories of the year.