Haas should delay its entry into F1 until 2016
Gene Haas revealed that his Formula 1 team is likely to make its debut in the premier category only from 2016, as there are still many issues to resolve.
Gene Haas, who obtained a license to run a team in Formula 1, announced that contrary to what he had hoped until now, his team should not be present in 2015 but rather in 2016.
« We are already in June, so there are only seven months left, and the timing issues are already becoming quite incredible, » the American told Autoweek.
The problem is mainly with the engine partner, the chassis partner, and the recruitment of a workforce estimated at around 200 people: « We have a list of names, but the issue is that many of them are already working for someone else, and they cannot get out of their contracts for another three to six months, so there are many contractual issues to resolve before anyone can come. »
The negotiations for an engine partnership with Ferrari are progressing well, however, as he stated to the site motorsport.com: « We do not have a formal contract yet, but we are close. »
« It seems that it takes more time to accomplish what we wish than we initially thought, » added Haas, who had nevertheless already given himself the opportunity to choose the best date to enter the premier discipline; an option that the FIA’s call for tenders – launched last December – provided to avoid the unpreparedness of the structures launched in 2010: Team Lotus (which became Caterham), Virgin (which became Marussia), and HRT (which disappeared at the end of 2012).
