Haas finds its chassis in some ways superior to that of Ferrari
According to its owner Gene Haas, the American team is approaching the design of its car with a more original angle and might well create a surprise next season.
Haas F1 Team is currently doing everything possible to be fully prepared for the pre-season tests in Jerez. To achieve this, the team has adopted a partnership strategy that distinguishes itself from other recent entrants in the discipline: while Ferrari provides not only the engine but also many other components of the car, it is the Italians from Dallara who are handling the chassis of the future Haas 2016 version.
Gene Haas, the eponymous owner of the team, praised this approach and even made resolutely optimistic statements: « *I think that our chassis, in its construction, will be substantially different from Ferrari’s, because we are simply doing it separately. We believe our chassis will, in some ways, be better than Ferrari’s because we’re using much more data. (…) We believe that the design of our chassis will probably be better.* »
Such a statement is quite surprising: Haas F1 Team is supposed to be Ferrari’s B team, not a serious rival for the Prancing Horse. Gene Haas prefers to point out the conservatism of the Scuderia: “The Ferrari is more conventional. They will continue to do what they’ve been doing for many years,” he continued for Sky Sports.
To drive his two cars next season, Gene Haas will rely on Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez. The Franco-Swiss driver already seems to delight his new boss: « I think he took a risk, because we are a rookie team and these teams have always, in history, had some problems. So I think we did better than expected in attracting Grosjean. »
The future ex-Lotus driver will clearly be the number 1 in the hierarchy this year according to Gene Haas: « The second driver – and I have no qualms about saying it – will be a Ferrari reserve driver [Gutierrez] because we are working with other drivers from the Scuderia, according to a joint agreement. These drivers have experience with the chassis and Ferrari simulator, and that’s what we’re looking for. Ferrari can count on two good reserve drivers [with Jean-Eric Vergne]. »
Of the last three teams to enter Formula 1 in 2010 (Caterham, Marussia, and HRT), only Marussia, now Manor-Marussia, managed to score points once. The other two teams went bankrupt. However, Haas’s original approach, combined with more substantial financial support, makes Romain Grosjean optimistic: the Frenchman has indeed reiterated his desire to regularly compete for points as early as the upcoming season. There is no doubt that with a chassis superior to that of Ferrari, the task should be easier…
