This past weekend saw the return of Formula 1 for the 2018 season. The season-opening race in Australia kicked things off to the usual fare, down to the almost identical results. While the race itself proved formulaic (no pun intended), one team stood out: Haas.
Despite the terrible luck befalling both cars, the team secured third row on the grid. The duo ran fourth and fifth ahead of Red Bull before pit stop faults brought an end to its run. Not even a week removed from the first race of 2018 however, the season is already brewing controversy.
Rival teams McLaren and Force India have called on the FIA to take closer look at Haas’s relationship with Ferrari. Their reasoning? F1 sporting regulations forbid information on parts shared between teams.
All teams must produce their own bodywork and Haas entrusts that task to Dallara. Aerodynamic work takes place in the Ferrari wind tunnel per its partnership. Ferrari also supplies the American team with parts it does not need to build itself, including the suspension. As a result, its triggered concerns among the two teams, as Force India COO Otmar Szafnauer expressed (via Racer):
“You’ve got to first understand the details of what they’re doing. We don’t. I don’t know how they do it; it’s magic. It’s never been done before in Formula 1. The smallest amount of resource and you magic up a fast car. I don’t know how that happens. Aerodynamic parts are supposed to be your own.”
Otmar’s argument isn’t entirely accurate as newer teams have punched above their weight in F1 in the past. Brawn GP won the constructors’ and drivers’ titles in 2009 in its only year as an active team. Of course, it was under scrutiny for much of the season as a result of its success, but in the end emerged scot-free. We expect the same result for Haas by the time this is over, should the FIA find it necessary to take a closer look.
Likewise, Force India secured its first pole position at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix — a race the team would go on to net silver in, in its second year in F1.
Of course, Force India isn’t alone as McLaren shares its concern over the American team’s “magic”. Fernando Alonso is even on record labeling this year’s chassis a “Ferrari replica”. Executive director Zak Brown urged the FIA to ensure Haas’ relationship with Ferrari isn’t “too close”.
The first race of the season is hardly a measure of a team’s outright pace. Next week’s Bahrain Grand Prix looks to be a better indicator of its place on the grid.
In its third year, Haas is no stranger to strong results at the Australian Grand Prix. Romain Grosjean brought the car home in sixth in 2016, the team’s maiden year. Both cars retired before finishing the following year, much like this year’s outing.
If you’re asking our opinion, it sounds like McLaren and Force India are grasping at straws. It’s especially odd in the case of McLaren, following Alonso’s fifth place finish.
Keep an eye peeled to GTPlanet for more on this story as it develops.
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