Haas can do better than 8th in the championship

The Belgian Grand Prix has a special significance for Haas. Indeed, it is in the Low Countries that the European headquarters of Haas Automation is located, which has 40 employees, along with the 560 employees of the Haas Factory Outlets.

The opportunity to bring in nearly 200 guests, employees, and clients of the brand over the weekend, as Günther Steiner, the team director, exclusively told us: « Generally, Haas Automation’s clients are very enthusiastic about automotive competition because they work in machine tools. They are therefore sensitive to mechanics and what we do. »

We thus understand the strategy implemented by Gene Haas with his team, which aims to promote his brand: « This is exactly what Gene wants to do. His machines are good, everything works well. But in Europe, what is lacking is brand awareness. Outside the United States, they are not at the level they have in the United States, where they have more than 50% market share. With F1, you not only have brand awareness but also emotions. For a potential customer, when you have two different companies and one is in F1 and you can be a part of it, the choice is easy. »

Especially since the results are there, with a nice eighth place in the Constructors’ Championship. However, a competitor like him cannot be satisfied with the status quo and aims higher: « To be honest, I would be happier if we were seventh because it’s possible. I think we deserve better than eighth. But the midfield is so tight. We are already happy to be ahead of established teams like Sauber or Renault. So overall, we can be quite satisfied, even though everyone always hopes for more. » Before the Belgian weekend, the American team is 14 points behind McLaren and 17 behind Toro Rosso.

We must also remember that Haas is still a young team, with the additional challenge of having employees in three different countries: 60 people are in Italy, 70 in Great Britain, and about forty in the United States. Being a brand-new team can be a great opportunity for some people but also a risk for others, which can complicate recruitment campaigns: « In fact, it was very strange. It was both easy and impossible. People were adamant: either they wanted the challenge, or they immediately refused to work for us and preferred to stay with larger teams. The hardest part was reaching out to people. Once that was done, the discussions went quickly. »

Obviously, among the most visible employees are the pilots. The team leader is therefore fully satisfied to have chosen Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez: « We are fully satisfied with our drivers. They work well together and with the team. »

If the initial goal regarding the choice of tires for next year was to announce them at Monza, it seems that this deadline will be somewhat postponed, especially since there is no rush: “We are not in a hurry. We are in a good position. It’s not like we have a guy destroying the car every weekend. We just need to talk with them, see what we can do better, and then make our decision.”

From our special correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr