Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era

While Haas endured a bit of a rollercoaster ride in Formula 1 last season, the team’s momentum is finally on an upwards trajectory after a barren spell. Nothing proved that more than the context of its new livery launch earlier this week, as it proudly revealed the visual change prompted by new title sponsor Moneygram.

After the trauma of its half-season with Rich Energy, and the abrupt end to the partnership with Uralkali, both Gene Haas and Gunther Steiner had to ensure they carried out their due diligence to make sure they had some more solid footing with any new backers.

Moneygram brings with it the support of a well-respected major international company, but also the finances that will help boost Haas’s coffers to get it close to F1’s budget cap limit. It is this new ceiling on spending that means, for a category where relative performance compared to everyone else is the sole point of judgement, Haas can finally say it is on a level-playing field.

As Steiner said at the end of last year: “When we came in for 2016, and there was no budget cap, you are a lot lower than the other teams, even if you are in a good financial situation. But now also compared to the other ones, we are very competitive financially. Not competitive; we are equal.”

This equal footing is significant because this was exactly the aim of F1’s rules revolution by Liberty Media, which finally got rolling last year.

While one aspect of it was focused on car design and how they raced against each other on track, the other element involved bringing the grid itself closer together.

The years of the big-money manufacturers simply spending their way to glory meant that smaller independent squads like Haas would never have a proper chance of being successful.

Despite a bit of a rollercoaster ride in Formula 1 last season, it is clear Haas's momentum is on an upwards trajectory

Photo by: FIA Pool

The only way to get things closer, agreed by F1’s chiefs, was to put a limit on spending. That way, the fight for grand prix glory would be about who could be the smartest, not who would have the biggest wallet. Other key elements were added to the mix too: a much fairer distribution of commercial rights income, plus the aero development restriction rules that gives more windtunnel and CFD running to those teams further down the pecking order.

All of these changes were based on good intentions, but any hopes of them delivering a jumbled up order and some midfield winners in 2022 did not materialise. In fact, the first year of F1’s new era proved to be a fallow one for those squads outside the top three; Lando Norris had the distinction of being the only driver outside of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes that made it on to the podium after his stellar drive at Imola.

When that single ‘best of the rest’ podium happened for two successive seasons in 2017 and 2018, then F1 managing director Ross Brawn said it was something the sport could not willingly accept.

“Two podiums from a total of 123 [across the two seasons] is unacceptable, especially when it comes with an ever increasing technical and financial divide,” he famously said. "It's a problem we are tackling together with the FIA and the teams, because the future of Formula 1 depends on it.”

"Everything is now tuned towards trying to maintain the integrity of the sport, but bringing it closer together" Ross Brawn

Speaking to Brawn at the end of last year about his previous remarks, and that 2022 stat, he reckoned it would take at least one more year for things to bed down and for rule-makers to better understand the true impact of the changes that have been made.

“I think we need another season,” he said. “But I'm not sure what we do if it continues that way because I think we've put in a number of initiatives – the cost cap, the cars and tracks we've tried to help with, the format of racing.

"Everything is now tuned towards trying to maintain the integrity of the sport, but bringing it closer together. And we've got the aero restrictions, which are just taken now depending on where you are finishing in the championship. So, there's a lot of things pushing it in a good direction. I'm optimistic."

Lando Norris was the only driver outside of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes that made it on to the podium in 2022

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

This is why how Haas does this year is so important, as the team is almost the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front (at least occasionally.)

With independent ownership, two experienced drivers, a good-value supply of customer engineers, and a blend of customer parts and their own aero developments, with enough funding to hit that budget cap limit, Haas is really in a place where there is no major aspect lacking.

It is now down to small details and ensuring that, when opportunity comes begging, it is in the perfect spot to grab it.

It would be far-fetched to believe that the years of race-winning knowledge and historic infrastructure that teams like Mercedes and Red Bull have will not help maintain them some kind of advantage for years to come, but what is important is that the order can close up behind them - giving them reason to look over their shoulders.

Teams like Haas should not have to sell up to a mighty manufacturer to be in a position to become a regular thorn in the side of the established front-runners; strong independents like Haas should be able to go into a grand prix weekend and, at least on the right day, have the sniff of a podium.

In that instance, maybe even the kind of shock pole position it delivered in Brazil last year could come on a regular sunny day and not helped by a perfect storm (excuse the pun) of weather and circumstance.

Nothing should be gifted in grand prix racing, for F1’s attraction has long been that it is a meritocracy - so for any team to get the good results, they still have to be brilliant in all aspects.

But it would be wrong, amid all the efforts that have been made to level the playing field in F1, for a team like Haas to have no hope and be consigned to never having that chance of a podium.

Strong independents like Haas should be able to go into a grand prix weekend and, at least on the right day, have the sniff of a podium

Photo by: Haas F1 Team