Coming into the 2016 Formula 1 season, a lot was riding on the shoulders of Gene Haas’ new race team. Haas F1, the lone American team in the sport, is impressing so far in its inaugural season.
French driver Romain Grosjean raised a lot of questions during the off-season when it was announced that he would drive for the team, with many presuming that he would be something of an in-race test driver. This gave Haas veteran experience on which to build the team, so they could develop a system which will lead to future success with younger drivers. Grosjean defied critics with his sixth-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix, and the more recent fifth-place in Bahrain. Despite the unexpected success, the team has still come under some scrutiny.
Gene Haas, a long-term figure in NASCAR and co-owner of Stewart-Haas with NASCAR legend Tony Stewart, has brought a stock car racing approach to Formula 1. The team relies heavily on Ferrari, rather than being a ‘constructor’ in the sense that they build and design all aspects of their cars. This has brought them under a considerable amount of scrutiny, but if it’s injecting new life into an increasingly stale and unstable sport, how can Haas F1’s success be a bad thing?
Formula 1 is used to seeing teams come and go. Whether it’s through a dropout (Caterham), power struggles (Lotus – Renault), or constant reinvention (Virgin-Marussia-Manor), it proves to be a tough sport to break into and remain competitive. Even traditionally successful teams such as Williams and McLaren are finding it hard to be noticed in recent years.
With this in mind, it was easy to be sceptical when Gene Haas announced that he was bringing in a new American F1 team. The difficulty of finding success in Formula 1 aside, an American presence in the sport has been missing for many years. When a Taylor Swift concert is lined up to “save the US GP”, it was hard for many to take Haas seriously, until now.
Even with these impressive performances, not everyone is completely sold on Haas F1 as a success story. F1 president Bernie Ecclestone himself dismissed the team: “That car is basically a Ferrari. It will perform because it’s a Ferrari. It’s a Ferrari second team” (via Autoweek).
This approach of shared parts and information does not seem to plague the public opinion of Toro Rosso, as Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz have been receiving more and more praise for their performances while being a second team to Red Bull Racing. This could be due to the fact that they are very openly a “second team”, while Haas celebrate success separately from Ferrari.
Stewart-Haas run engines built by Hendrick Motorsports—at least until they switch to Fords in 2017—and are not at all considered to be a part of the Hendrick race team. This is where a huge line is drawn between NASCAR and Formula 1, as Formula 1 teams are expected to be making their own equipment and collecting their own data against NASCAR’s idea of “sharing is caring” in terms of engines between race teams of the same constructor. Haas are bringing this idea to racing’s pinnacle with changes in F1’s rules allowing for increased equipment deals between teams.
Undoubtedly, this approach leaves many established yet struggling teams somewhat irritated with Haas’ instant success. Pat Symonds of Williams said this in relation to their use of other teams’ equipment: “The status of being a constructor has been gradually eroded”.
But if this is well within the sport’s new rulings, are the gripes of Williams a genuine critique or just bitterness? The question with Haas F1 is whether or not this approach is good for the development of the sport. NASCAR has been doing this for many years, and 2016 has proven to be an incredibly exciting season for the sport thus far. With a strong rookie class, close finishes, and great stories, NASCAR has been delivering great racing in the few weeks we’ve seen thus far. The first two F1 races had near-identical podiums with the same two teams taking the top three spots.
When was the last time you were seeing a young team in the news because they were driving well rather than because they were struggling financially? Especially with the likeable Romain Grosjean behind the wheel and very satisfied with his performance, it is hard to say anything negative about Haas F1’s approach as a fan of the sport.
Ultimately, Formula 1 is in a very rough place in terms of excitement. Races have turned into a competition as to who can finish second or third, with the winner of each Grand Prix becoming more or less a given. If a team can break into the sport and be able to run well using a different strategy than the other teams, it should not be dismissed as a fluke.
Haas F1’s success thus far has been nothing short of a miracle. Grosjean himself exclaimed after his fifth place finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix: “Unbelievable guys – this is the American dream!”. Their success is just that: a new perspective. Could it represent a shift for the sport? Possibly. But first, teams have to accept that working together has proven it can deliver exciting racing through NASCAR over previous decades.
Formula 1 as a sport has to decide what is more important: remaining an elite club only for the most exquisite or becoming a genuinely exciting racing series. Although it is a sport of great historical prestige, it is obviously in need of some reinvention. Gene Haas’ success in Formula 1 is a breath of fresh air in a sport which has grown increasingly stale.
