Having so far reserved any development, the American team has introduced a major overhaul and update to its car at the Hungaroring.
Touch-ups to the bodywork, sidepods, diffuser and floor have taken the car in the same direction as Ferrari , one of its biggest partners. And while the similarity of the concepts will likely raise some eyebrows, Haas director Guenther Steiner insists there’s nothing to be ashamed of about his ploy.
Indeed, he said it “would have been absurd” for the team to have done anything other than assess the route Ferrari has taken with its F1-75, bearing in mind that the teams share many common components.
Asked if he expected the new Haas to be a “white Ferrari”, Steiner said, “I hope I’m quick. If someone says we copy, why are we going to copy the Williams ?”
“I don’t want to disrespect Williams, but it’s a completely different concept and they’re behind us. So if you copy something, you copy the best you can and at the moment it’s Ferrari and Red Bull.
“We have the same engine as Ferrari, the same gearbox, the same suspension, why would we copy anything else? And are they winning races? So 1 and 1 equals 2, and we’re not stupid.
Steiner also said his team made a deliberate choice to assess what the leaders had done earlier in the year, before deciding which way he wanted to go with his car.
“There are three concepts there: the Ferrari one, the Red Bull one and the Mercedes one ,” he said.
“We are close to Ferrari, so obviously we are going to see what they have done and copy it. But it takes time, because we have had to put the car on the track and compete, and then we have had to go into the wind tunnel to do tests. looking at that car.
Steiner explained that the team’s strong start to the season had also given him a breathing space to take his time in crafting the route they wanted to take with the American team.
“I think we’re in a good place for what we’re supposed to be,” he said. “We didn’t expect to come out that strong at the beginning. So we said we’re going to try to win as much as possible, and we’ll look at what’s out there to try and see which way we can go.”
Haas news in F1 2022
Full details of the Haas upgrade were revealed in the latest technical update from the FIA , provided today ahead of first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
While most teams opted for a minor upgrade or nothing new, Haas declared seven updates in total, covering the floor, diffuser, sidepods, rear suspension and brakes.
The Americans focused on updating the ground for this race, including a redesigned body, fences and rim, with the goal of increasing downforce while managing the porpoising problem that has affected many teams under the new regulations.
The “bottleneck” and engine cover area of the car has been designed “with more diffusion on the upper deck and a smoother transition between the front pontoon and the flank of the neck”, as well as adding additional cooling around of the rear suspension and new cooling vents to cover the needs for the rest of the season.
The aerodynamic rear suspension fairings have also been redesigned as a result of the update, while a new lip has been added to the rear brake ducts to improve airflow and increase downforce.
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