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 4th 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 5th-6th for Haas in 2019. But hopefully their rear wing sponsor isn’t a sign that Haas are past their peak.
George Talks 