Team Haas's first car, the Oatley-designed THL1, was still under development at the start of the 1985 season and would only be ready to race at the twelfth round, the Italian Grand Prix. In the meantime, the team's promised Ford TEC engines also not ready (the deal to build the turbocharged V6 Ford was only agreed to at the 1984 British Grand Prix and engine designer Keith Duckworth lost 4 months trying to unsuccessfully develop a 4 cylinder engine before eventually deciding on a V6). This forced Haas to do a deal with Hart Racing Engines to use their 1.5-litre turbocharged, 4 cylinder 415T engines until the Ford units could be completed, while Goodyear became the team's tyre supplier.