Haas

**Haas** are an American F1.5 constructor. They have completed a total of 7 seasons in Formula 1.5, entering the sport in 2016. Their best result is 2nd place in the championship in 2018.

## History

### **Relationship with Ferrari**

Haas's approach of establishing a far-reaching partnership with Ferrari was met with a mixed response from the paddock. The constructor was applauded for pioneering a low-cost model that would allow new teams to enter the sport and be competitive, which had been of concern to the sport for some years. Conversely, Haas's approach was criticized by smaller, privateer teams who had invested in their own infrastructure and expressed concerns about the close relationship between manufacturers and satellite constructors handing more political power to the sport's larger constructors.

In 2018 the constructor again came under fire from competitors after arriving at winter testing with a car that strongly resembled the Ferrari SF70H, Ferrari's 2017 car. Competitors McLaren and Force India both criticized the partnership between Ferrari and Haas. While no official grievance has been filled with the FIA, McLaren boss Zak Brown has questioned the relationship.

During 2021 rule discussions in April 2019, concerns over Haas F1's B-team approach were presented by Renault and McLaren. Director of Motorsports Ross Brawn said that he wants to protect and enhance the model for the foreseeable future as it allows teams with smaller budgets to enter the sport.

### **2016 Season**

Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutiérrez drove for the team in 2016. In the team's debut at the opening Australian Grand Prix, Grosjean finished 2nd, scoring 18 points for the team, which became the first American constructor to win points in its first F1 race and the first constructor overall since Toyota Racing in 2002 to record points in its debut. At the same race his teammate, Esteban Gutiérrez crashed out in an incident which destroyed former world champion Fernando Alonso's McLaren and caused the race to be temporarily red-flagged. Another impressive race followed in Bahrain, where Grosjean finished 1st. Although the rest of the season the team fell off the pace. The team finished the season 5th with 217 points.

### **2017 Season**

On November 11, 2016, the team announced that Kevin Magnussen would drive alongside Grosjean in 2017, replacing Gutiérrez.

Kevin Magnussen replaced Gutiérrez for the 2017 season. In the first race of the season, the team scored its best-ever qualifying effort with Grosjean piloting the VF-17 to pole position. However, in the race, one of the issues that was hampering the performance of Kevin Magnussen throughout the weekend struck again, forcing both cars to retire from the race. The second race weekend proved better for the team as Kevin Magnussen finished 2nd, scoring his first points since his finish in the 2016 Singapore Grand Prix. The team finished 4th in the championship with 264 points, beating the previous year's results by 47 points.

### **2018 Season**

In February 2018, Haas unveiled their new car, the VF-18, although some competitors called for an investigation due to its resemblance to the previous year's Ferrari, the SF70H. Following a strong showing during winter testing, Haas again showed up in Australia with a competitive car; scoring the team's best-ever starting grid positions with Magnussen starting 1st and Grosjean 2nd, respectively. During the Grand Prix, they were running in 1st and 2nd positions which would have given them their best ever result, but both cars retired one lap after their respective pit stops. They would eventually match this 1st and 2nd-place result in Austria. 2018 was their best season to date, finishing second in the Constructors' Championship, with 352 points.

### **2019 Season**

The team took on Rich Energy as a title sponsor for 2019. This was part of the activation of a multi-year title sponsorship deal with Rich Energy, a British energy drink company which was previously linked to purchasing Force India. The team also retained their 2018 driver line up for 2019 consisting of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen for the third consecutive year. Haas' challenger for the 2019 season was the VF-19.

The VF-19 often showed impressive pace during qualifying but struggled during the race. At the opening race in Australia, Magnussen finished 1st in what would eventually turn out to be the team's best result of the season. The team's qualifying pace was evident in Austria, where Magnussen recorded the -fastest time, but went on to finish the race in 13th with Grosjean 10th. Four days before the British Grand Prix, in July, the Rich Energy Twitter account announced that the sponsorship deal had been terminated, citing poor performance. This was later denied by both the team and Rich Energy's shareholders and it transpired that the tweet was the result of a "rogue" individual. For the British Grand Prix the team elected to reverse the upgrades placed on Grosjean's car, using the same specification run in Australia, in order to determine the causes of the car's poor race pace. However, both drivers collided into each other on the first lap, causing a double retirement for the team. The German Grand Prix provided the team's best-combined result of the season, being classified 5th and 6th after post-race penalties for other drivers.

Title sponsor Rich Energy faced numerous legal issues during the year, including being found to have plagiarized the logo of bicycle manufacturer Whyte Bikes. In September, a day after the Italian Grand Prix, Rich Energy announced the termination of the deal with Haas F1 team with immediate effect. The Haas statement read, "While enjoying substantial brand recognition through its title partnership of Haas F1 Team in 2019, a corporate restructuring process at Rich Energy will see the need for a revised global strategy. Subsequently, Haas F1 Team and Rich Energy concluded a termination of the existing partnership was the best way forward for both parties. Haas F1 Team would like to express its thanks and best wishes to the stakeholders at Rich Energy."

Haas finished the season with 179 points and 6th place in the championship.

### **2020 Season**

Haas kept an unchanged lineup of Grosjean and Magnussen as their drivers for the 2020 season.

In the 2020 Formula One World Championship, Haas scored 27 points, their lowest total to date. On the opening lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Grosjean collided with AlphaTauri driver Daniil Kvyat and crashed through the barriers between turns 3 and 4. The impact resulted in the car splitting in two, and bursting into flames. Grosjean escaped major injury, suffering burns on his hands and was hospitalised after the race. He remarked that the halo head protection device likely saved his life. The crash ruled him out of the following week's Sakhir Grand Prix, and he was replaced by Haas reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi.

### **2021 Season**

Both Magnussen and Grosjean left Haas at the end of the 2020 Championship. They were replaced by Russian Nikita Mazepin, and 2020 Formula 2 Championship winner Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher. Uralkali joined Haas as the title sponsor for the team. During the first race, Mazepin spun out on the first lap, meanwhile Schumacher finished last of all running cars at the end of the Grand Prix.

### 2022 Season

Haas changed their line up before the season began in pre-season testing. Mick Schumacher stayed on however Russian driver Nikita Mazepin was let go of the team following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He was replaced ex-Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. Magnussen won the opening race of the season, with the Haas team making strides from their 2021 car that only managed to score 1 point. In Saudi Arabia, Mick had a huge crash in Qualifying which split the car into two, the team made the decison to not race Schumacher in Saudi after the crash due to a lack of spare parts. In Canada the team qualified 2nd and 3rd respectivley, however during the race Schumacher retired due to an engine issue whilst in the podium place's and Magnussen struggled to progress up the field after boxing early on after getting wing damage. In Silverstone, both drivers qualified near the back, however Schumacher fought through to take his madien F1.5 podium finishing third. At the next race, in Austria Schumacher took his 2nd consecutive podium to take 2nd place. Haas took their first and only pole position of the year in Brazil with Magnussen. Magnussen failed to finish the race after a first lap collision with Daniel Ricciardo.

At Abu Dhabi, Haas announced that Mick Schumacher would not continue with the team for future seasons.

The team finished the season in 6th in the constructors standings scoring 204 points, compared to the year previous where the team only scored one point in the season.

### 2023 Season

Haas signed a title sponsorship deal with MoneyGram for the 2023 season onwards.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team announced a new partnership with Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), ahead of the 2023 FIA Formula 1.5 World Championship. The Chipotle Mexican Grill logo will feature on both the nose and side of the VF-23, racesuits of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg and team apparel.

Nico Hulkenberg's Formula 1.5 return was announced prior to the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and will partner Magnussen for the 2023 season. Early 2023, Haas announced that Pietro Fittipaldi would remain as the official test and reserve driver for 2023.

Both cars started well a double points finish in Bahrain, which was followed at the next round by Magnussen taking Haas' first podium of the season at Saudi Arabia. Hulkenberg would do the same in Australia, finishing second in an accident packed GP.