New Haas shows Ferrari's influence
Haas's technical partnership with Ferrari was a key part of it hitting the ground running in Formula 1 so effectively. The 2017 design appears to show even stronger evidence of their collaboration
Unlike 12 months ago, Haas is now very much up and running and established in Formula 1.
But it's harder to design and develop a new car when you are racing one at the same time, so as a resident grand prix team that's a very different challenge - especially given Haas remains a relatively small F1 outfit.
So that's a big test for Haas. It started last year very well, scoring some solid points on merit. But as the season went on, it dropped away and points were harder to come by. It's difficult to recover from a diminishing performance profile and believe in yourself enough to build the new car the right way.
And Haas is in a very tight part of the grid. Realistically, there is a big three and then everyone else, so how good a job you do there can make a very big difference.
Bringing in Kevin Magnussen, who is less excitable than Romain Grosjean, could help the team to keep its feet on the ground. He's very like his dad in the calm way he goes about things.
Looking at the car, the first thing that jumps out is the area between the front wheels and the sidepods. Only Ferrari has taken a similar approach, and while I know there is a relationship between the two it doesn't include aerodynamic design.
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