Earnard Beccelstone wrote:I have really mixed feelings on this.
Its good to see a US-based team wanting to compete in F1. Honestly, I’d like to see two or three US-based F1 teams to give the UK/European connection a hard time.
Haas has a decade-long history in racing, substantial facilities underneath him, a background in high-tech manufacturing and a significant amount of funds behind him, even if this is just a marketing exercise for his CNC business.
I’d love to see a US driver back on the grid
The acknowledgement by Hass that there needs to be a long-term, multi year learning curve to be competitive in F1 makes me think this isn’t going to be a repeat of USF1
However:
Haas already has a fairly chequered history with regards to tax activities
The insistence on being a North American-based team may lead to a lengthened development/deployment cycle, tying a hand behind their back in any development race from the start
The arrogance straight off the bat – the “well-run, efficient American organization” and “most advanced nation on the planet” press conference comments, and the corollary that European teams aren’t this and “just throw money at things and go”, were completely unnecessary
No named engine supplier
No clarity on whether it will be a 2015 or 2016 start
Using a Dallara chassis – yes, they can build excellent cars, but they’ve not been at the sharp end of the F1 grid for a LONG time. It will also mean another steep learning curve if they do get around to building their own chassis. So, if they get an ordinary chassis out of Dallara for a couple of years and then build their own after that, I can easily see them spending three or four years at the back of the grid.
So what if they do spend a few years at the back of the grid? It would be reasonable for them to do so, and learn the formula in the process. On the other hand, its hard to win sponsors by saying "We're going to spend three years getting lapped more than the dog's water dish, please write a check."