Gene Haas' new American F1 team

  • Thread starter Roo
  • 700 comments
  • 40,559 views

Roo

Premium
7,333
United Kingdom
Hampshire, UK
GTP_Roo
Autosport
space.gif
space.gif

NASCAR team boss Gene Haas plans new Formula 1 squad for 2015
By Dieter Rencken and Jonathan Noble Thursday, January 16th 2014, 16:57 GMT

NASCAR team co-owner Gene Haas is working on plans to launch a new American Formula 1 team, AUTOSPORT has learned.

High level sources have confirmed that Haas, who part owns the Stewart-Haas team, is working with former Red Bull and Jaguar technical director Gunther Steiner on the F1 project.

The new team, which is provisionally called Haas Racing Developments, has lodged an application with the FIA to join the grid now that a slot has been opened up.

The FIA announced in December that it was seeking new entrants for F1 that could bolster the grid from 2015 onwards.

Although there is no indication yet from the FIA about whether or not the Haas plans will be successful, Steiner has confirmed that the project is being evaluated.

He told AUTOSPORT: "Haas Racing Developments has asked for a licence and expressed an interest, but at the moment we have no further comment to make.

"The FIA is still in the decision-making process and there is still one more step to go before they award the licence."

Stewart-Haas recently expanded its facilities in Charlotte, which could be part of the preparations for a potential F1 involvement.

Haas owns factory facilities in Brussels that could become a European base for the team.

He is also the owner of the full-scale Windshear windtunnel that has been used regularly by F1 teams.

AUTOSPORT understands that if the project is given the go-ahead then the team would likely enlist Dallara to help build its initial F1 car.

The other potential contenders for the new team slot are believed to be former F1 team boss Colin Kolles, and Stefan GP, which has previously applied for a place on the grid.

Fingers crossed. F1 could do with a new team, what with Lotus possibly being in trouble. Let's just hope that Team Haas can make their way up the grid - if they make it at all.
 
I would like this very much as Gene does have the money to front a decent effort, although there is one part of the article I don't see as related...

Stewart-Haas recently expanded its facilities in Charlotte, which could be part of the preparations for a potential F1 involvement.

In 2013 the team added a 3rd full-time Cup entrant and is adding a 4th in '14 so the expansion is more likely related that and not a potential F1 entry.
 
If they do make F1 they will use a Dallara chassis, would that be made in Indianapolis like their Indycars? If not I can't see how the team could work based in USA.
 
The Romanians want in as well, with Colin Kolles spear-heading their application. And the infamous Stefan GP has also applied.
 
As an american F1 fan I'm very supportive of this, however after the USF1 thing its really hard to imagine that this would really happen. To make things worst there is realistically no way I can see his team competing with either Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull or Mclaren.
 
I'd love to see Stefan GP enter, just so I can watch a team as hapless as Andrea Moda. :lol:
 
however after the USF1 thing its really hard to imagine that this would really happen.

I don't see a repeat of USF1 happening here as the main investor(Gene Haas) is probably more committed than Chad Hurley was to USF1. Gene also has a decade running a NASCAR program, compared to Ken Anderson and Pete Windsor who had exactly zero when USF1 got a spot(and it showed).

Plus, I'm sure the FIA will look much deeper into the finances of any potential teams after the USF1 fiasco.

To make things worst there is realistically no way I can see his team competing with either Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull or Mclaren.

I'm not sure why anyone would expect that, if a team does get the spot they'll be lucky if they can match Caterham and Marussia in their first few years.
 
Honestly, he made the best business decision I've ever seen in racing (Give half of his team, basically 10 million dollars, to one Tony Stewart), and the team went from strokers who barely made races for 6 years to winning a championship in about 3 years.
So if there's going to be a US F1 team he's probably going to be the only choice outside of Penske or Ganassi suddenly wanting in.
 
I cannot help but be put off by the idea of Haas approaching Dallara. He has got more money than some of the teams they have worked for in the past, but they don't have a great track record when it comes to designing cars. Haas might be better off sounding out Kolles and the Romanians, seeing what they have and consider linking up.

Plus, I'm sure the FIA will look much deeper into the finances of any potential teams after the USF1 fiasco.
USF1's problem wasn't finance. It was design. There was interest in the team, but all of the potential sponsors and investors wanted to see something solid first.

Shortly after the team's collapse, a few of the junior designers opened up about what happened. They reported coming into the team's offices to find that Ken Anderson had undone a lot of their work. Anderson had a very clear idea of what he wanted the chassis to be, but he would not hear of anything outside it.
 
If they are based in America, they're pretty much doomed.

Why do you think most teams are based on the United Kingdom? That's where all the knowledge, expertise and facilities are. They aren't forced to make a trans-Atlantic flight every time they go to a European race or test venue.
 
Wouldn't bet on this team being anything more than a backmarker in their first year... but you never know.
 
Wouldn't bet on this team being anything more than a backmarker in their first year... but you never know.

I wouldn't bet on any new team being any more than a backmarker in their first year. Whoever joins in 2015 will struggle to keep up with Caterham and Marussia (If they're still around).
 
The best way forward would be to get a studio like Dallara to build a chassis for the first season and compete on a minimal budget, thereby maintaining a presence on the grid, but giving you enough time to prepare fully for the second season.

A lot of people seem to think that the Haas bid is the strongest and bound to be accepted, but the reality is that we don't know details of the Kolles or Stefanovic entries. Stefanovic is likely to be a joke, but the Kolles but apparently comes with significant backing from several Romanian state-owned enterprises who are believed to have been looking at getting involved with an existing team, but instead decided to launch their own bid. Kolles is Romanian by birth, and while his Formula 1 efforts have not gone well, he does have facilities and resources at his disposal. If he is getting public-sector support, it is likely to be a strong bid. Especially if Bucharest wants to bolster the local automotive industry (read: Dacia) by consolidating their ties to Nissan and Renault.

In fact, the FIA never explicitly ruled out a thirteenth entry. If both Haas and Kolles have the right support, the FIA might opt for both of them.
 
Wouldn't bet on this team being anything more aren't a backmarker in their first year... but you never know.

Yeah, we do know. The only way a new team can start out remotely competitive is if they aren't really a new team so much as a rebranding of an old team, like how Brawn GP was previously the former Honda team. Upstart teams coming out of nowhere simply cannot put together enough know-how to have half a chance. They can't immediately know how to swim the instant they are first introduced to water, but rather will splash about trying to stay afloat before they grasp the understanding of swimming. Experience in other motorsports is worthless here.

EDIT:
I don't know that they have the financial resources to be competitive, either. Forbes has them valued at $108 million with a profit of $7.2 million. Top F1 teams spend hundreds of millions in a single season. I don't know that they can come up with the capitol to compete with even a mid-field team.

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mli45hfeg/5-stewart-haas-racing/
 
Last edited:
I don't know that they can come up with the capitol to compete with even a mid-field team.
Don't forget that the Global Cost Cap comes into effect next season. The FIA have not published details of what that might entail, but it is clearly aimed at bringing costs down.

Plus, as an experienced team owner, potential sponsors and investors would be much more comfortable with Haas than with an unknown.
 
Roo
Fingers crossed. F1 could do with a new team, what with Lotus possibly being in trouble. Let's just hope that Team Haas can make their way up the grid - if they make it at all.

Lotus will be fine, they have oil money on their side from France and Venezuela, we should all be more worried about Marussia. I like this and am happy to see an actual American team step up unlike the fodder 4 years ago, their name I wont even write because they are so horrid.
 
Why should we be worried about Marussia? Because they were listed as "TBC" on the entry list? Considering that they had their drivers and engine lined up before Lotus did, I think you will need some more compelling evidence than that
 
EDIT:
I don't know that they have the financial resources to be competitive, either. Forbes has them valued at $108 million with a profit of $7.2 million. Top F1 teams spend hundreds of millions in a single season. I don't know that they can come up with the capitol to compete with even a mid-field team.

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mli45hfeg/5-stewart-haas-racing/

Gene's company, Haas Automation, had a $967 million dollar profit in 2012.

On a related note, Ferrari is only worth $337 million(as of 2012).
 
Last edited:
Anyone know stuff about CNC machines? Looking to start a new business venture xD


Wait, you did this wrong.

You should be comparing them to Ferrari as a company, which took in over 3 billion dollars in revenue in the same year.

And Haas wouldn't be able to use all that money they made in revenue in the team. I don't even know how much they could spare, maybe 100 million combined with venture capitalists?

That should be enough to get started then keep the other side of things in the Haas Automotives side of things going smoothly.
 
Last edited:
Anyone know stuff about CNC machines? Looking to start a new business venture xD



Wait, you did this wrong.

You should be comparing them to Ferrari as a company, which took in over 3 billion dollars in revenue in the same year.

And Haas wouldn't be able to use all that money they made in revenue in the team. I don't even know how much they could spare, maybe 100 million combined with venture capitalists?

That should be enough to get started then keep the other side of things in the Haas Automotives side of things going smoothly.


Fair enough, I just posted the net worth of the F1 team as a comparison to the NASCAR team's.👍
 
I don't know why, but I just unsure about this. Maybe I'm underestimating them (after all, they don't have Ken Anderson at the helm), but the after taste of USF1 is still sorta present.
 
Back