Force India, McLaren want 'magic' Haas-Ferrari F1 car investigated
Force India and McLaren want the Haas Formula 1 team's technical relationship with Ferrari investigated after its "magic" Australian Grand Prix performance
Haas locked out the third row of the grid in qualifying for the season-opener in Melbourne and ran fourth and fifth ahead of Red Bull before pitstop mistakes condemned Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean to retirement.
It triggered fresh questions over Haas's working relationship with Ferrari, which supplies the team with parts it does not need to build itself but also allows Dallara, Haas's chassis partner, to use its windtunnel.
F1's sporting regulations strictly forbid the passing on or receiving of information on parts teams are supposed to produce themselves, a move also designed to stop personnel being rotated between projects.
Force India chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer wants the application of those restrictions discussed in the next meeting of F1's Strategy Group.
"I don't know how they do it, it's magic," he said. "It's never been done before in Formula 1.
"I just don't know how it can be right that someone who's been in the sport for a couple of years with no resource could produce a car... does it happen by magic?
"If it does, I want the wand."
McLaren driver Fernando Alonso labelled the 2018 Haas a "Ferrari replica" in Melbourne, and his team's executive director Zak Brown told Autosport it was "something that needs to be looked at closely".
Grosjean said the use of Ferrari's front suspension, which the regulations allow, would naturally dictate the major aerodynamic design points because of the way the air flows over the rest of the car.
Brown admitted "I don't have any evidence" to suggest Haas was not operating within the rules, but said: "We all know they have a very close alliance with Ferrari and I think we just need to make sure it's not too close.
"There could be some influence, there's certainly some parts of the car that look very similar to last year's car.
"But that's for the engineers and the FIA to look at more closely."
Brown and Szafnauer both said multiple teams would support a clarification over the Ferrari/Haas arrangement.
Szafnauer said he wanted the FIA to explain the process for ensuring the guidelines were being respected.
"All the aerodynamic surfaces have to be your own," he said. "If they're not, I don't know how you can tell unless you start investigating.
"Scrutineering only tells you that it fits within the boxes of the regulations.
"Is it yours or somebody else's [idea]? That's the real question. And I don't know the answer to that.
"Maybe it is their own, it's just suspect - how can you gain that knowledge without history and the right tools and people?"
Asked by Autosport about the Ferrari comments earlier in the weekend, Steiner said: "We have a team that can be proud of what it is achieving at the moment.
"We are not doing anything we shouldn't be doing or not allowed to do."
Previous article
Toro Rosso's Hartley: Honda F1 engine pretty flexible for racecraft
Next article
Bahrain Grand Prix F1 tyres choices - McLaren goes most aggressive
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Teams | Ferrari , McLaren , Force India , Haas F1 Team |
| Author | Scott Mitchell |
Albert Park Circuit Modifications Project
Mercedes-AMG F1 Team: Bahrain GP Race Debrief
The 'new' F1 drivers who need to improve at Imola
After a pandemic-hit winter of seat-swapping, F1 kicked off its season with several new faces in town, other drivers adapting to new environments, and one making a much-anticipated comeback. BEN ANDERSON looks at who made the most of their opportunity and who needs to try harder…
The delay that quashed Aston Martin’s last F1 venture
Aston Martin’s only previous foray into Formula 1 in the late 1950s was a short-lived and unsuccessful affair. But it could have been so different, says NIGEL ROEBUCK
Verstappen exclusive: Why lack of car-racing titles won't hurt Red Bull's ace
Max Verstappen’s star quality in Formula 1 is clear. Now equipped with a Red Bull car that is, right now, the world title favourite and the experience to support his talent, could 2021 be the Dutchman’s year to topple the dominant force of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes?
Are we at peak F1 right now?
For many, many years Formula 1 has strived to do and to be better on all fronts. With close competition, a growing fanbase, a stable political landscape and rules in place to encourage sustainability, 2021 is on course to provide an unexpected peak
How crucial marginal calls will decide the Red Bull vs Mercedes battle in F1 2021
The longer Red Bull can maintain a performance edge over Mercedes, the better the odds will be in the team’s favour against the defending world champions. But as the Bahrain Grand Prix showed, many more factors will be critical in the outcome of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship
How Williams’ new structure adheres to a growing F1 trend
Williams held out against the tide for many years but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, the age of the owner-manager is long gone
When a journeyman driver's F1 career lasted just 800m
Nikita Mazepin’s Formula 1 debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix lasted mere corners before he wiped himself out in a shunt, but his financial backing affords him a full season. Back in 1993 though, Marco Apicella was an F1 driver for just 800m before a first corner fracas ended his career. Here’s the story of his very short time at motorsport’s pinnacle
The nightmare timing that now hinders Mercedes
Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton took victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix despite, for a change, not having the quickest car. But any hopes of developing its W12 to surpass Red Bull's RB16B in terms of outright speed could not have come at a worse time.
