Steiner doesn’t care about comments calling Haas the Ferrari B team
Since she arrived in Formula 1 in 2016, Haas has always been close to Ferrari. This has earned her the reputation of being a B team for the Maranello company. Günther Steiner "doesn't care" and thinks it's like "a broken record".
Every time the Haas team starts a season on the right foot by delivering good performances, the leaders of other teams criticize the close collaboration it has maintained since its arrival in F1 with Ferrari.
A partnership that allows the American organization to buy a large number of parts within the limits authorized by the regulation.
After the very challenging 2021 season due to an underdeveloped car, the American team bounced back with the VF22, which, it must be said, bore a strong resemblance to the Scuderia’s car.
The strong performance combined with good results, like Kevin Magnussen’s solid fifth place finish in the opening round, was enough for paddock members to claim that Haas was Ferrari’s B team.
In the face of these statements, the American team has never closed the door to FIA inspections regarding the compliance of their car, and until this day, no complaint has been filed by a competitor.
A situation to which Günther Steiner is used (to).
If you are good, you are a copier, if you are bad, no one cares. I tell them: ‘Very well, keep saying it, we have already heard it before.’ It’s a broken record. It doesn’t bother me. I don’t care at all, comments the team manager.
Steiner galvanized for 2023.
With 37 points scored, a pole position (the first in its history), the team finished 8th in the Constructors’ Championship in 2022. Steiner hopes that the performance will be back on track in 2023. Especially since the arrival of MoneyGram this season as the title sponsor has allowed them to reach the budget cap.
In 2020, it was not an easy position, as the pandemic broke out. But I think yes, it puts us in a very strong position.
« When we started in F1 in 2016, there was no budget cap, so you are much lower than the other teams, even if you are in a good financial situation. But now, even compared to the others, we are very competitive financially, we are equal to them.
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Increased performance?
After a generally successful 2022 season, the arrival of a new sponsor can only be beneficial. Günther Steiner, in any case, is confident, based on the progress made by Haas in previous years.
I think we are again on an upward trend. We have once again built a solid foundation in 2022. We have a good sponsorship with MoneyGram. We have experience with the pilots.
« Our technical team, who designs the car, started modeling the 2022 car in 2021, so there were already many talented individuals. But they were not working together before. Therefore, I believe that the next car will be better.
Looking back on it, I have no regrets. I would do the same thing again, because it once again gave us a solid foundation for the future. Sacrificing 2021 was a step backward in order to move forward.
« Gene Haas supported this, he loves Formula 1, especially now that with the cost cap in place, we can be competitive. We had a pole position, we finished fifth in a race, so for him it’s enjoyable. »
He just wants to be part of the 10 teams that are in Formula 1. How long? We don’t know, but at least in the foreseeable future.
A last surprising sentence when one knows the difficulties to access Formula 1. Especially at the very moment when Andretti-Cadillac wishes, unsuccessfully for now, to join the F1 grid.
