Presentation of the VF-16 by Haas
After a year and a half of waiting, Haas's first single-seater has been unveiled. It symbolizes the first return of an American team in nearly 30 years.
The presentation of Haas’ single-seater was scheduled to take place like most other teams on Monday morning, just before the start of winter testing. Ultimately, the American team decided to move it forward to gain greater media exposure.
If the team therefore chose to unveil its car on the Internet, its website couldn’t handle the number of simultaneous connections. But even before this technical presentation, the VF-16 had completed its first lap. Indeed, yesterday, as part of the preparation for its first tests, Romain Grosjean took the wheel for an initial installation lap. It seems that only one lap was completed due to a detected oil leak.
From the sponsors’ perspective, there are few surprises, it is of course the eponymous machine tools brand that took the lion’s share, with presence on the radiators, engine cover, and rear wing. If Gene Haas launched his F1 team, it was first to showcase his own company, which already generates a turnover of a billion dollars: « Haas Automation has an excellent reputation in the United States. I want this reputation to grow globally. Associating Haas Automation with F1 is the best way for our business to progress and for Haas Automation to become a premium global brand. »
The association that the team owner wants to establish with his company is evident when looking at the name chosen for his car, the VF-16. This refers to the fact that the first machine tool launched by Haas Automation in 1989 was called the VF-1, standing for the “Very First One.”
No surprise, one can also note the presence of a well-known brand in the F1 world, namely Telcel. The Mexican brand has supported Esteban Gutierrez since the beginning of his career and has always been present on the single-seaters the young driver has driven in the past. Richard Mille is also present, even though it has also partnered for ten years with McLaren, and will enjoy similar exposure to what it had at Lotus.
The team sets ambitious goals, as stated by Günther Steiner, its director: “First of all, we need to go out there and show that we are capable of doing the job, that we can finish races, earn the respect of fans and other teams in the paddock. Then, we want to score points. That’s our ultimate goal.”
We will have an initial answer tomorrow with the first official laps of this new single-seater.
With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr
