Can Haas F1 be competitive in 2016?
As the Haas F1 team prepares to take in its first test in Barcelona, the entire sport is holding its breath in anticipation of what the 2016 newcomers will bring to the competition.
NASCAR stalwart Gene Haas has already pulled off something of a coup by acquiring a Ferrari engine for his team’s debut season and the new car looks attractive. Meanwhile, the announcement that Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez will line up for the American team has prompted speculation about how Haas might fare in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships this season.
The latest Formula 1 odds have Grosjean and Gutierrez priced at 751.00 and 1001.00, respectively, for the Drivers’ Championship at the time of writing. Haas are offered at 1001.00 to win the Constructors’ Championship, with shorter odds than both Sauber and Manor.
While those odds seem fair for a new team that is something of an unknown quantity, the Haas pairing of Grosjean and Gutierrez will be keen to upset the bookmakers and at least pull off a few shocks during the course of the season.
When Grosjean was announced as a Haas driver for the 2016 season, team principal Guenther Steiner described how the Swiss-born 29-year-old offered the ideal blend of determination and experience. A glance at his track record shows that he has almost four years of Formula One experience, having amassed 10 podiums and 287 points from 83 race starts.
He finished 11th in the Drivers’ Championship in 2015, driving for Lotus F1 for the fourth consecutive season, and achieved his first podium since 2013 when he took advantage of a Sebastian Vettel tyre explosion to finish third in Hungary. Should he take that kind of form into the 2016 season for Haas, the team could be more dangerous than many people expect.
Grosjean’s teammate, Gutierrez, will benefit from the Swiss driver’s experience as he looks to complete his fourth full season as a Formula One driver and improve on his best ever finish of 16th in the Drivers’ Championship – a feat he achieved in 2013 when driving for Sauber F1.
Gutierrez will benefit from having spent the whole of 2015 test driving for Ferrari, and his familiarity with the engine Team Haas are employing this season could give him the edge to pull off performances that some of his competitors might not be expecting.
Gene Haas has called for Gutierrez to “prove himself” by winning a race for the first time in his Formula One career. This may seem like a big ask of the 24-year-old, but the high standards Haas sets for his team are unlikely to do the Mexican any harm whatsoever.
This is not the first time a Haas team has entered a Formula One season. Back in 1985, Alan Jones drove four races for Carl Haas’s Beatrice F1 team, but the failure to start any more races and problems with the team’s car led to a disappointing season, and the subsequent attempt in ’86 yielded a similar damp squib.
.@AlanJonesMBEASM doesn't hold back on how the previous Haas #F1 team fared in the 1980s https://t.co/nEihQhYxL1 pic.twitter.com/2ZAjxsS96A
— Autosport (@autosport) February 15, 2016
But with a more than competent driver lineup and a proven engine, Haas could be set to add a slice of drama if they can pull of some shock results in 2016.
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