Haas

**Haas Formula LLC,** running as **Tesla Haas FE Team** for sponsorship reasons, is an American racing team. Created in 2015 by NASCAR team owner Gene Haas, the team entered in 2016 in Formula 1, being the first team to enter from scratch since Toyota in 2002. The team from their start until 2027 experienced lots of ups and downs in performances, with most notably winning a race in 2024 with Kevin Magnussen, but fell to the back of the grid from 2028 to 2031 as a method of saving money for the new regulations of 2032. Following their introduction, Haas moved up the pecking order, even battling for titles.

## Origins and F1 History

Haas was founded by Gene Haas, co-owner of NASCAR giants Stewart-Haas Racing. The team intended to debut in Formula 1 in 2015, but decided to delay their entry to 2016. Their first year was a success, scoring several points and slowly started moving up the grid, with 2018 seeing them move up to fifth place in the standings. However, 2019 was a difficult year both in results and off the racetrack, following a dispute with new sponsor Rich Energy, which saw the American team terminating their sponsorship in mid-season when things hit rock bottom.

## 2020-2023: Ups and Downs

Haas entered Formula Earth in 2020 with their most recent lineup, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. The team saw improved performances from their poor 2019 year, but it was Magunssen who performed the best, with Grosjean struggling for results and later announcing his retirement from the sport in the end of the year. Formula International runner-up Freyr Vigfusson. 2021 saw their fortunes improve, with Magnussen finishing in the midfield and Vigfusson becoming rookie of the year for the 2021 season.

In 2022, Haas announced a new sponsorship deal with electric vehicle giants Tesla and also formed an alliance with Formula International team Tesla Dragon, who shared the same sponsorship. The team managed again to finish in the midfield, scoring less points than 2021 but managing to tie with the superior Aston Martin team. 2023 saw the team slipping down the order, scoring only 5 points, thus showing the team's inconsistency.

## 2024-2027: First win and rising up the grid

In 2024, the team scored its best ever result when Magnussen scored a shock win in the wet Shangai race, after perfectly managing his tyres and driving a near-perfect race. He would later score a second podium, a third place in Monza. He scored overall 73 points, just 2 short of future world champion Esteban Ocon in what was the best year for the team in the decade. Vigfusson on the other hand struggled and later had his season abruptly ended after enduring a fiery crash in Suzuka. Tesla Dragon driver Mart Soosaar raced for the last three races, scoring a sixth place in Kyalami.

In 2025, the team signed Christian McGonagall from Williams, with Vigfusson going in the other way. Magnussen finished 11th following a good run of results in the last 3 races. McGonagall struggled on his first year at the team, scoring 14 points. 2026 was a similar year, with both drivers sitting in the midfield. After this, McGonagall moved back to Williams and the team signed their first ever American driver, Eugene Stanley, for 2027. The team had again a hard year, scoring 12 points overall.

## 2028-2031: Decline

From 2028 onwards, Haas started saving money for the new regulations of 2032, thus slipping to the back of the grid for the time being. Also, Magnussen left for Shadow in a swap deal with American Jarvan Lightshield moving the other way. Stanley scored 6 points in what was their last points scoring year for the 2020s. From 2029 to 2031, the team stayed at the back of the grid, failing to score a single point.

## 2032-2035: Rising to the top

With the new regulations upcoming, Haas was one of the winning teams from the changes and started a gradual ascent to the top of the grid. Lightshield scored the team's first ever podium since 2024 and scored 47 points. However, Stanley underperformed and was ousted from the team in the end of the year. Newcomer Robbie Holzman was announced as his replacement. 2033 was a year of success, with the team being the third best of the grid and Holzman winning races and becoming the second best rookie of the grid behind Farid Esmaeilzadeh. Lightshield finished behind him in sixth.

In 2034, Holzman managed to finish in third place, being a contender for the title and scoring 159 points. However, Lightsheild had fallen behind and finished in ninth place. At the end of the year, Lightsheild retired, with the team signing Tomas Aguilar. 2035 was pretty much the same, with Holzman in fourth place and battling with Davor Dordevic and Levi Lea'ai for the best driver behind the unbeatable Red Bull team. Aguilar had a solid rookie year finishing in ninth place.

## 2036-2038: Back in the midfield

The team returned in the midfield in 2036, with Holzman in 13th and Aguilar in 19th, as Haas wanted to conserve money. 2037 was an improvement, with Holzman briefly leading the standings on the 4th round of the season, but he fell down during the second half and finished in 8th, as Aguilar had his breakout season and finished in a fantastic 5th place, showing his potential. Following this, Holzman left the team after being offered an extension that would see him as second driver of the team, a move that shocked the paddock. Jonathan Thor was, unexpectedly, signed up on a free transfer from Aston Martin, becoming the first European driver to race for the team since 2026. Aguilar finished 7th in another impressive campaign, while Thor finished 16th, having an abysmal first half on his new team.

## 2039-present: Re-joining the title fight

For 2039, Haas made a very strong car that was on raw pace the fastest car of the grid. Both Aguilar and Thor started strongly the season, with Thor getting his first ever win in FE. The team faced Shadow for the title fight, but despite trying their best, they were defeated by the British team for both driver and team championships. Aguilar finished 3rd, 1 point behind runner up Joao Paulo Kitayama, and Thor 5th, with Haas having their all-time best season finishing in second place. For 2040, Haas started to conserve again, but still had a competitive car. Aguilar again finished in the top 10, this time in 9th with a single podium, while Thor faded our and scored only 38 points.

## Drivers

* Romain Grosjean (2020)
* Kevin Magnussen (2020-2027)
* Freyr Vigfusson (2021-2024)
* Mart Soosaar (2024)
* Christian McGonagall (2025-2026)
* Eugene Stanley (2027-2032)
* Jarvan Lightshield (2028-2034)
* Robbie Holzman (2033-2037)
* Tomas Aguilar (2035-present)
* Jonathan Thor (2038-present)