Tag: Haas

2019 was cat-Haas-trophe for the American outfit but can the new decade bring improved fortunes?

(If I really, REALLY try I may be able to put Will Buxton out of a job…)

But that’s not what we’re here for; slightly earlier than planned Haas unveiled their revised look for 2020. I’m not complaining, the treacherously long F1 off-season has finally come to a triumphant end and Haas will hope that with it comes an end to the dog of a car that was the VF-19.

As Formula 1’s newest team there’s nothing they’d love more than consistency from season to season while slowing gnawing away at F1’s elite. This is something that Haas haven’t been quite able to tie down like they do a certain Frenchman, but more on that later.

2016 built a very solid start for a newly founded team. Support from Ferrari or not, they executed races, especially in pressure conditions, like a team with several seasons under their belt. While performances didn’t maintain the high standards set at the start of the season, this was always to be expected considering the low numbers of staff and funding they had at their disposal. This was always going to leave a hangover the following season where despite another 8^th placed finish, they couldn’t make inroads towards the top end of the midfield. But like a student realising they had a lecture the next day (write about what you’re familiar with I guess) they popped a couple Beroccas down them and produced a monster of a car for 2018, which they were unfortunate not to make 4^th place in the Constructors’ with, picking up a very respectable 4^th place in Austria in the process. Come 2019 then, and big things were expected from America’s plucky outfit.

I don’t know what was worse; Rich Energy’s attempts at being a legitimate title partner, or the VF-19’s woeful race pace. If you were a Haas fan I honestly don’t know how you coped. You’d think the race was bad enough but then at the end of it you’d get some bearded buffoon spurting anti Red Bull gibberish on Twitter. It was sometimes more entertaining than the race itself! What’s that? The French GP a let-down again? Oh well, grab the popcorn kids we’ve got Rich Energy tweets to look forward to! I mean we could, in fact we are feeding their PR machine here, but admittedly I did enjoy their fall, especially considering Haas didn’t suffer financially in the end. What’s the phrase? All publicity is good publicity.

Well if there’s ever a man in Formula 1 who is living on borrowed time it’s Romain Grosjean. If I’m not mistaken I slated him in last year’s preview and even threw in Wehrlein to replace him for 2020. Magnussen gave another stellar season, convincingly outscoring and outqualifying the Frenchman. In spite of this, Grosjean did prove his worth in helping to feedback about what was wrong with the VF-19 and why they couldn’t develop it. Other than that, he was beaten soundly by Magnussen; a half a second average qualifying delta for starters! If Haas return to form in 2020, Grosjean really needs to consistently put the pressure back on his Danish teammate. In some ways, he’s lucky there’s no ready prepared driver in the Ferrari stable that could feasibly take his seat. Even Wehrlein looks to have left F1 fully behind him now, I know Mahrindra aren’t the team they used to be in Formula E, but he hasn’t set that Formula alight like we might’ve thought – look at Vandoorne for example.

I do expect Magnussen to prevail again this year, but it would be nice for Grosjean to remove just some of the doubters on his back. What happened to 2013-2016 Romain? Remember when he was tipped to replace Kimi at Ferrari? Seems eons ago now.

I predicted a 5^th or 6^th placed finish for Haas last year. Hindsight is a wonderful thing isn’t it?! I mean maybe a slight drop off in relative performance could’ve been predicted considering the titanic battle between themselves and Renault the year before so they possibly could’ve put extra resources into beating Renault, and who would’ve blamed them? It’s just a shame that they can’t seem to find consistent growth.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom for Haas in 2020, they’ll have a few things working in their favour. The regulations are stable for 2020, so they can take huge lessons from 2019 and implement them for this season’s challenger. The tyres have also remained the same spec, so there’s less chance of them pulling a 2019. Plus if history’s to be judged, a duff Haas season is followed by a highly competitive one. I certainly wouldn’t predict them to finish 9^th this season. How highly they finish? Well that depends on consistency.

I’ll be honest, I’ve never really loved the Haas liveries. Other than 2016, their debut challenger, I’ve just felt they’ve been lacklustre. The monochrome tones akin to late Dennis era McLaren have, for me at least, felt like a missed opportunity, and this year’s car is no exception.

Yes, the addition of the now infamous Rich Energy brand always meant that we were most likely going to get a dark car, but for me this felt like a chance for Haas to create one classic livery. Considering it’s a title sponsor, there is little gold on the car. I mean I wasn’t expecting the Techeetah Formula E livery plastered onto a Formula 1 car but saying that it might’ve worked better in my opinion! You could argue they needed to distinguish themselves from the ‘John Player Special’ cars of old, or more recently the now defunct lotus team. But the way they’ve worked it just seems underwhelming, leading me back to the missed opportunity idea. Considering it was marketed as a ‘new era’ they had the chance to be bold and stride into 2019 with one of the cleanest liveries, instead they’ve just tiptoed into the new year.

Perhaps I’m being overly critical, the actual in person pictures of the car do look more pleasant. If you were to put some more gold on the gold, particularly around the halo and rear of the car, I think I’d be less scathing of the car – and it’s much better than the hideous 2017 car. Hopefully it looks as nice as the new driver romper suits (which are very tidy may I add) whilst on track, but ultimately I think it’s just too dark.

Moving on, it should be a really interesting year to follow Haas. Where do they lie in the pecking order in terms of being a Ferrari team? The new Alfa Romeo deal could signal that Haas have become the new Ferrari ‘C’ team, particularly if Alfa continue their trajectory from the end of 2018. Close attention needs be paid to the performance of the VF-19, it is widely reported that Haas have the smallest F1 operation in terms of staff, and are not exactly made of money, but this new title sponsor might change that. Haas have had previous form of being fast out of the box but not being able to keep this form consistent throughout the season, which could suggest they struggle to develop the car or have no funds to do so. 2018 bucked this trend and they pushed the factory outfit of Renault all the way but ultimately just fell short of 4^th place. So for me it’ll be interesting to see if 2018 was the year they turned a corner, figuratively speaking, or whether they can now keep up a season long challenge. Of course, the added funds from Rich Energy should help them to do this, although this finance is dubious to say the least considering I’ve yet to see British energy drink Rich Energy on the shelves in Great Britain. Hmmmm.

Ro Gro vs. K-Mag

Are we seriously talking about silly season already?!

Romain Grosjean managed to pull off a Lazarus-style resurrection of his season in 2018. His second half of the season is what kept him in Formula 1. 2019 I feel could be the year he has to stake his claim to be a solid F1 driver… again. In my opinion he has used all his 9 lives, and it feels like Haas are slowly becoming Magnussen’s team. Magnussen has been much more consistent but occasionally lacked the supreme pace of Grosjean, but that’s what you need in the midfield, regular points as it’s unlikely that you’re going to beat the top 6 drivers on pure pace.

Should Grosjean suffer defeat to the hands to Magnussen, I think now Wehrlein has cut his links to Mercedes and is now a Ferrari sim driver I think he’d be a great fit for the team.

For F1’s benefit we need a strong Haas this year. As F1’s newest team they are the benchmark for how progress can be made, especially to outside teams looking to join. They may choose to follow the controversial Haas model or may be a manufacture outfit, but it shows if the infrastructure is there you can consistently make gains on your rivals year on year. I guess it’s dependant on 2021 regulations for now if we are to expect new teams any time soon.

You’ve probably noticed I’ve not spoken about the developments between the VF-18 and VF-19, and that’s because I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea where to start. I’m simply not clever enough to talk about this, so I’ll continue to talk superficially and predict the season ahead for each car launch to come. Another reason for this is that Haas described it as a livery launch, and the stock-looking 2019 front wing further proves this. Technical boffins like Craig Scarborough may notice differences between the two packages but this will be more obvious when the car rolls out in Barcelona in just over a week’s time, just like for the other teams.

All in all I predict that it’ll be another close midfield battle and Haas will certainly be at the top of this group, but a stronger Renault and perhaps resurgent McLaren (big maybe there) will be difficult opposition so I reckon 5^th-6^th for Haas in 2019. But hopefully their rear wing sponsor isn’t a sign that Haas are past their peak.