2024 MoneyGram Haas F1 Team

[continuum16]

The car is mechanically identical to the SF-24 and as the regs age and there is aero convergence; so there is no reason for Haas to be more than 0.5s/lap off of Ferrari. Theoretically there should be little to choose between them if Haas were run properly.

That's a massive, massive, massive oversimplification of everything related to performance and aero engineering

Haas won't make a break until they have their entire operation under one roof, make their own chasis and assemble the car in there as well. What started as a good business model is not enough now that survivng is not an issue and teams are cutting all unnecessary costs left and right. And already this year it will be clear Steiner was right to insist on that very same issue. Gene Haas wanted a scapegoat, it's as simple as that.

Yes it is an oversimplification. I think my tone was a bit misconstrued; I don't realistically think Haas will ever be on par with Ferrari. The "theoretically" should have included a few more sets of quotation marks.

If you want to win you probably do need to do more or less everything yourself. I use "probably" because I don't think that it is an absolute must. There are plenty of examples across motorsport where a secondary/satellite team can compete with and beat the supplier. I guess whether or not you consider F1 as its own animal and therefore immune to comparison with other series (I don't, but others definitely do) will impact whether you believe building everything in-house is an absolute must.

I don't work at Haas or indeed any F1 team. But externally I don't see what Steiner brought to the table beyond charisma. Maybe he was much more focused behind the scenes, I have no reason to doubt that nor evidence to support that idea.

The bottom line is, it has been one race, that just so happened to go better than the last 20. The next 23 will clearly show whether or not the issue lies with the tools or the man in charge of them.

[Vanja #66]

The bottom line is, it has been one race, that just so happened to go better than the last 20. The next 23 will clearly show whether or not the issue lies with the tools or the man in charge of them.

The car itself is a lot better and it was basically completely devised and designed under Steiner's leadership. Hulk got a P10 in Q last year as well, Mag finished P13 +1 lap, now finished P12 +1 lap. Same thing, but unlike Alpine and Sauber they made progress.

[Vanja #66]

Great tactics from Haas, a strategic success was achieved with P10 and a worthy WCC point. The car is far better than last year and it shows.

[Waz]

Great tactics from Haas, a strategic success was achieved with P10 and a worthy WCC point. The car is far better than last year and it shows.

Tire wear seems massively improved. Top speed is also very good.

[Vanja #66]

Haas again doing a mega job, car is so much better. Steiner's team made a 2024 midfield beast last year

[Zynerji]

Anyone mad now that Steiner is gone?

Everything is better now.

[CaribouBread]

Anyone mad now that Steiner is gone?

Everything is better now.

lol Lets not kid ourselves that the first races of the season has anything to do with Komatsu. His mettle will be proved through in season development and next year's performance!

[SoulPancake13]

Steiner built a strong midfield car, fair play to him. Hope Komatsu can keep up the development.

[jaysvw]

Outside of the car, from the moment they showed up for pre-season testing they looked like a better team than in years past. They ran the most laps during testing, usually they are at or near the bottom of laps run. There was a coherent strategy to address their deficiencies. Their pit stops have also massively improved this year, we aren't seeing a bunch of 3.5 and 4.0 second stops anymore. Even the race strategy has looked better, although improved tire wear might account for some of that.

Even if the car wasn't as competitive as it is, there are still plenty of positives to take away for the team. Still, I'm more interested in seeing how the last 12 races play out for them rather than the first 12. That will really tell us what if any change Komatsu has been able to bring about.

[Waz]

Hard to believe that KMag did a 1 stop at Suzuka. This car is so much better on tires than last year, although not quite hitting those qualifying headlines anymore.

The drivers can probably live with that, knowing they won't sink like a stone during the race.

[continuum16]

Interested to see if the updates are a step forward given they have struggles for the last five years to produce anything meaningful mid-season. I've seen reports it's only on Kmag's car, which seems odd given the usually they give it to the higher one in the standings. Maybe this is compensation for playing the team game, or maybe they would rather have Hulk in the "baseline" car given it's a sprint and it could be difficult to get the setup right on the updated car with only one practice.

I also have seen they plan to bring more parts at Miami or Imola (not sure which). If they work as expected and they continue to bring new stuff every 5 or so races I think the team could realistically hold on to P7 for most of the season; Alpine is a mess, Sauber can't do a pit stop, and Williams spends all their time and money on repairs these days and are still paying the price for being behind schedule in the winter. Maybe they can even put pressure on RB if Ricciardo doesn't step up.

[continuum16]

Guess with Hulk out it's a fairly forgone conclusion that Bearman will come in. Komatsu was a big fan before he was TP and before Bearman's Saudi sub so I would really be shocked if they go a different direction.

Magnussen has been closer to Hulk than he was last year but is still probably the weaker of the two. Maybe their improved form will give them some more leverage in the driver market since the '25 cars will pretty much all be carry-overs. And if Ferrari nail the '26 PU regs they will probably be in the midfield and not backmarkers again.

I don't know who you'd go after, though. Bottas? Debatable upgrade from Kmag. Ocon? Doesn't play well with others. Zhou for the $? They're fine without pay drivers now so I don't think they are desperate and Zhou is probably not as good as Bottas. Probably MAG/BEA lineup incoming.