Haas

Gene Haas insists he is not saying ‘no’ to putting an American driver in one of his F1 cars but only down the line, when Haas have learnt more lessons and improved as a team.Haas team boss Guenther Steiner irked America’s F1 drivers when he stated that “at the moment there is nobody ready for F1 in the United States in my opinion.”This led to a barrage of criticism, however, team owner Haas says too much was read into Steiner’s comments.“Well, I’m pretty sure I know where that talk came from,” he said. “Guenther Steiner, our team principal, was asked about having an American driver in Formula 1 and, more specifically, with Haas F1 Team.“He responded by saying something to the effect that it wasn’t at the top of our priority list, and things kind of took off in a bunch of different directions as people made a bunch of assumptions.”Haas, though, does concede that right now putting a rookie American driver in … [Read more...] about Haas not yet good enough for an American driver

This year Romain Grosjean has urged Haas make sure their updates do the job before putting them on the car so as not to lose "three months" with things that don't work.Last season Haas managed eight top-ten finishes in the first half of the championship while in the second they scored just five times.Part of that, Grosjean reckons, was due to introducing updates that didn't do what they were supposed to."There are a few areas where we need to focus on and get better," the Frenchman told Autosport."One is making sure that the updates when they are coming are working well and they have been validated before, so not losing three months of time to bring something that doesn't bring what it was supposed to do."I am not going to go through everything because it is confidential but that is just an example."This is two years in a row where the trend is to go a bit down during the year. We started twice with a very, very good platform and we have been struggling with the tyres."We are not up … [Read more...] about Grosjean calls on Haas to validate updates

Haas could continue with Santino Ferrucci and Arjun Maini this season, revealing they are in talks with both drivers.Ferrucci joined Haas in 2016 as a development driver while Maini entered the picture last season.As yet, though, Haas have not re-signed either for the 2018 season with both their developement driver roles and their reserve driver position still open."Haas F1 Team is currently in discussions with Santino Ferrucci and Arjun Maini about their potential roles in 2018," Haas told Autosport in a statement."Santino has been a part of the team since 2016 and Arjun joined last year."The partnership has been beneficial for both drivers and for Haas F1 Team, and while it's something we're looking to continue in 2018, we're not ready to announce anything yet." … [Read more...] about Haas in talks with Ferrucci and Maini

Kevin Magnussen believes there is no reason why Haas cannot follow Force India up the grid, after all, the American team has "done better" at the start of its career.Although Haas and Force India were in oppositve halves of the grid in 2017, Magnussen is confident the future is looking bright for his team."I'm very confident we can go forward and [show that] small teams can do well; Force India are showing that," he told Motorsport.com."If you look at Force India's first couple of seasons in Formula 1, as a new team we've raced and done better, so it's looking good and I think the team is going in the right direction."In fact Magnussen has such confidence in Haas' ability, he reckons they could take on his former team Renault in the 2018 championship."Renault are doing well, but I just feel very good here and I feel that we can improve and take the fight to Renault next year if we get everything right," he said. … [Read more...] about Magnussen: Haas can match Force India’s achievements

IndyCar driver Graham Rahal has strongly disagreed with Haas's claim that no American drivers are ready for Formula 1 racing.Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has recently revealed that the team would like an American driver to race for them but does not believe any are up to standard."It's not on top of our list," Steiner told Autosport when asked about the prospect of signing an American driver."It's on top of our list if there's a good one. Obviously, we want one."But then maybe, if there is a really good one, would they come to us?"Just having an American driver who maybe cannot compete at a certain level is maybe not good for the sport."[Signing an American driver] would be an ambition, but at the moment there is nobody ready for F1 in the United States in my opinion."Those comments provoked a strong reaction from Rahal, who said on Twitter: "Complete BS. @HaasF1Team if you really believe that, why don’t you call some of us, give it a shot?Alexander Rossi, who started … [Read more...] about Rahal blasts Haas’ ‘complete bull****’ claim

After a trying time with McLaren and Renault, Kevin Magnussen says he is finding life with Haas "more enjoyable" as there is "less negative pressure."Although Magnussen's Formula 1 career began on a high note with a podium finish on his McLaren debut, he was dropped to a test driver role in 2015 to make way for Fernando Alonso.The resulted in a swap to Renault the following season, however, again it was an unsuccessful partnership with Magnussen joining Haas in 2017.He managed five top-ten results for the American and will remain with the team for the upcoming championship."I've been able to let go of the pressure of being a Formula 1 driver a bit and just enjoy racing, enjoy those cars and enjoy the races more," Magnussen told Autosport."I'm still focused and I'm still working hard; it's just more enjoyable and less negative pressure."It's always easier when you're having fun, that's for sure."I am having fun here; I enjoy working with these guys, and I like the way the team is … [Read more...] about Magnussen: Less negative pressure at Haas

Guenther Steiner concedes that finding sponsorship is a "priority" for Haas, but insists the team won't sell themselves on the cheap.Last season Ferrari, who power both Haas and Sauber, announced a new big deal with the latter.Under the new arrangement, Sauber has been rebranded as Alfa Romeo Sauber, which has brought engines, technical know-how and Charles Leclerc to the team.Asked whether Ferrari have approached Haas with that same deal prior to confirming Sauber, Steiner told Motorsport.com: "No, not with us, nothing."He is, however, open to holding talks about a similar deal if one is put on the table."Why not? We are open always to talks," said the team boss."If somebody's got some ideas, yeah, for sure we are interested in it."But is it our priority? Maybe not."Instead he says finding outside sponsorship is what the team is really looking for given that Gene Haas' Haas Automation has been the team's principle backer."I think that's a priority, it's just difficult to get … [Read more...] about External backers a ‘priority’ for Haas