Guenther Steiner is hopeful that Ferrari can challenge Red Bull next season, since it would help drag Haas up the field in 2024.
In the last few teams, AlphaTauri and Red Bull’s relationship has been highly scrutinised. However, they aren’t the only teams with close ties. Over the last few years, Haas and Ferrari have worked relatively closely in terms of their development.
As a team with limited budgets and resources, Haas lacks the ability to match the expenditure of rivals. The last twelve months have, once again, exposed their inability to compete in the development war.
Although Guenther Steiner claims that finances weren’t a limiting factor last season, it is difficult to overlook their mid-season form.
Haas F1 hopeful about Ferrari
The Haas team principal’s recent comments to Sky F1 are still indicative of a clear ceiling:
“I think somebody will challenge Red Bull and Max next year…
“I hope [it is] Charles because it means they get a good package – and we then have a good package.
“We are a bit self-centered,” joked the Haas team principal.
Expecting Ferrari to fight for wins in 2024 isn’t unrealistic. Only Red Bull outscored the Italian outfit in the second half of 2023, making significant progress with a series of updates.
Pole Position in Monza and Singapore (the latter being converted into a race win) were clear highlights. However, perhaps the team’s best race of the season was in Las Vegas.
Unlike in Singapore, where the street circuit layout allowed Sainz to control the pace, there were overtakes aplenty in Vegas. This made Charles Leclerc’s performance and tyre management all the more impressive, narrowly missing out on victory.
Although Haas might benefit from an improved Ferrari, this approach does not seem very encouraging. After all, Guenther Steiner is essentially outsourcing his future to the hands of another team.
In any case, Haas F1 will cross their fingers that 2024 is an improvement. Their only upgrades to the VF-23 in COTA were ineffective, so starting the season strongly seems like a bare minimum for the US squad.
