Haas F1 Team founder and chairman Gene Haas has conceded that he may have been better off buying an existing team rather than starting his own from scratch.
The American team joined the grid at the start of this year, after initially deferring their entry from 2015, and despite Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone advising them to buy into an existing team, Haas opted to start from the ground up, taking advantage of the listed parts rules to buy components from Ferrari.
"Bernie was always saying 'why don't you just buy an existing team?', which was actually a better idea because there were only 10 teams at the time so economically it would've been a lot more beneficial," Haas told Autosport. "Bernie was probably right because there are so many advantages when you're a top 10 team."
"Not only do you get 'column A' money but you also get freight and airline tickets for the team," he said. "There is a lot of financial help for the teams once they've been established."
Haas have enjoyed an impressive maiden campaign in F1 so far, notching up 28 points and a best finish of fifth at the Bahrain Grand Prix - the team's second ever race.
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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