Haas: With a team built from scratch?

In the columns of the British press, the American insists that it’s better to start from scratch even if it means facing difficulties, instead of buying the equipment of a team like Caterham or Marussia. With his team entering the premier category of motorsport in 2016, the American manager is aware that problems will accumulate for his team.

He believes that buying an F1 team would have brought far too many complications. This is how he answered “absolutely” during an interview with Autosport when asked if he was ready to start his own team without going through an existing team in the paddock.

He continued the interview: « I’m not sure these teams are for sale, people say they are, but every time we talk to them, there are always complications. »

« We have a new start to negotiate, [with a team] in our own way, which obviously comes with its share of problems. We will have to struggle with these difficulties, no doubt about it. We have a lot to learn to achieve this. » adds Gene Haas.

A seat in Europe

Many observers have questioned the operations of the Haas-Racing team. It is planned that a base will be established in Europe according to Autosport to assist with logistics from Charlotte in the United States: « There should be a sort of European base, at least for the cars initially. We should transport them to London or Germany. We will need to have a place to at least work on the cars. Initially, everything will be prepared in North Carolina. The engines and all the equipment will be shipped there. Then, the complete cars will be sent somewhere [in Europe] for all the races, or just the European races. When it’s done, the cars will come back for refurbishing or whatever is necessary. »

The manager of the NASCAR team believes it won’t be a problem to attract the right people needed for his team: « Being in Charlotte will not be an issue, there are direct flights, it’s only a 8-hour trip between Charlotte and London, transportation and communication for the team should not be a big concern. That’s how it works in our time. We need to find the right people, and they are all around the globe. We can benefit from these technologies to bring them to us. »

Gene Haas also confided to the journalist specialized in F1 economics, Christian Sylt, that the team could follow the example of several F1 teams, namely hiring an experienced driver alongside a “paying driver”: « I think initially, what we would really like is to have an experienced F1 driver, someone who has driven a 2014 car, to help us. Then the second seat could go to someone who is very promising, who could be an American, or someone else who also brings sponsor money. »