Haas F1 Team emerges as dark horse of 2018

  • Published on 12 Mar 2018 09:34
  • comments 9
  • By: Rob Veenstra

Haas has emerged as a dark horse favourite to finish 'best of the rest' behind the top three teams in 2018. Until recently, it appeared that Renault was clearly the strongest behind Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.

But former F1 driver Alex Wurz told Speed Week: "Haas makes a big impression on me. The car looks excellent -- as good as last year's Ferrari. And everyone knows how good that worked. And the handling is really impressive on any fuel load," he added.

Haas boss Gunther Steiner admits the American team could lead the midfield in 2018. "It seems that the middle of the grid will be very close, but I hope we manage to lead them," he said.

And Jan Magnussen, a former driver who is Haas driver Kevin Magnussen's father, told BT newspaper that it's "hard to be pessimistic" after the Barcelona testing. "I can imagine that the test filled the whole team with confidence," said the former Stewart driver.

"Kevin said the car feels good, that it suits him well and that they've taken a step forward. But when comparing to the others it's just guessing. You have Toro Rosso, Haas, Williams, McLaren and Renault and it's hard to know where you are in that group. But the team and Kevin are optimistic," Magnussen snr added. "Now they go to Melbourne so we'll find out." (GMM)

Replies (9)

Login to reply
  • So far so good. And no bragging to boot. Lets see if they can keep it up.

    • + 0
    • Mar 12 2018 - 14:07
  • Barron

    Posts: 625

    You can expect challenges from the other teams if they do perform this well. The entire car is a de facto Ferrari in the true sense of the word and there is no way a small F1 “Constructor” can arrive at this point without a major injection from an established team. The sheer fact that this car appears to be a copy of last year’s factory Ferrari and that it was manufactured by a third party should set some alarm bells ringing amongst followers if F1 who enjoy the engineering challenges as well as the driver competition. Put it this way, if it is slow, no-one will care (although they should), but if it is quick as is claimed, then there will be some very concerned team principals this year..I expect Red Bull to be in the forefront of that. Why? Because they have their own ‘B’ team, but are full constructors within the spirit of the rules with their own design & manufacturing facilities. Imagine if Red Bull supplied a Newey designed chassis to STR. Can you visualise the furore this would create? This imaginary scenario is no different than the current Haas set-up.

    • + 0
    • Mar 12 2018 - 15:01
    • Except STR and RB has worked together on several occasions. Not as direct as Ferrari with Haas perhaps, but close enough to count in my book.

      • + 0
      • Mar 12 2018 - 21:11
    • Barron

      Posts: 625

      Partly true but STR are a full Constructor with factory design & manufacture as required by the rules of F1. Haas are not, they make very little. As I say, the top teams are not particularly worried as long as Haas is floating around at the rear of the field, but watch out if they appear near the sharp end. Another concern is that effectively, Ferrari now control almost 1/3rd if the grid.

      • + 0
      • Mar 13 2018 - 11:28
    • Thats all very well, but the point stands. If one should be able to share data or parts, so should the rest, be it full constructors or teams having someone else do the constructing. Mind, Dallara doesnt develop all of the chassis: Haas is pretty involved in that process aswell. They just dont do the final touches and the legwork.

      Im pretty sure this is Ferrari's intention. Its a display of influence and power. "See what we bring to the table? If you aint pleasin' us, we are out".

      • + 0
      • Mar 13 2018 - 19:32
  • Savio

    Posts: 145

    No, because... K-Mag & Grosjean are on board.

    • + 0
    • Mar 13 2018 - 08:23
    • Hardly the best lineup, but far from bad. KMag just need to cool down a notch, and Romain "He Hit Me" Grosjean could use a course in humility, but they are evenly matched, seem to work well together, and with the right car they could very well be up nipping on Renault's bits.

      • + 0
      • Mar 13 2018 - 19:34
  • wmponfire

    Posts: 6

    They will start at a good note surely. But as the season goes forward, they cant keep up with the other teams develeopment.

    • + 0
    • Mar 13 2018 - 08:49
    • Savio

      Posts: 145

      Oh! Really?

      • + 0
      • Mar 13 2018 - 09:13

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team -
  • Points -
  • Podiums -
  • Grand Prix -
  • Country DK
  • Date of b. Oct 5 1992 (31)
  • Place of b. Roskilde, DK
  • Weight 68 kg
  • Length 1.74 m
Show full profile

Team profile

  • comments 68,867 comments on Haas
  • star 16 members have this team as their favourite
  • vote Tweets about Haas
Show full profile
show sidebar